


Dead of Night

by orphan_account, trickstersGambit



Series: Dead of Night [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood, Blood Kink, Demons, Humanstuck, Incubus!John, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Succubi & Incubi, Violence, human!Karkat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-21
Updated: 2013-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-15 06:25:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 39,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickstersGambit/pseuds/trickstersGambit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat Vantas isn't like most kids his age. At sixteen, he's dropped out of school, run away from an abusive mother, somehow found an apartment and works full time to provide for himself. </p><p>Oh yeah, and his new roommate is an incubus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Art drawn by Zilleniose on tumblr!

It was raining again. It seemed to rain here a lot, John noticed. The past few days, he began thinking about moving back down south, where the weather was warmer and less temperamental than this place. He didn't actually know exactly where he was. He'd usually care enough to make a mental note, checking one of the papers or stopping by a gas station for a map, but he was too tired to bother with it this time.

The teenage boy grimaced noticeably, hand moving to cover his stomach, which was beginning to feel emptier as the day went on. Maybe tonight would be the night he... no, he didn't want to think about it. He momentarily pondered dumpster diving to scrounge up some food, but that never seemed to help whenever he waited this long. No half-eaten hamburger or apple core was going to help now. Now that he thought about it, weren't apple cores supposed to be poisonous or something?

He sighed, looking across the street as a few cyclists weaved around him on the sidewalk. It was beginning to get dark out, though he wasn't sure if that was just because of the rain, because John never took the time to procure a watch. Either way, he should probably find some shelter.

His thoughts halted in a heartbeat as a woman in a business suit exited a coffee shop just beside the wandering teenager, her umbrella opening with a soft 'click'. John couldn't help but stare, gaze even and unblinking, and the woman gave him a slightly disgusted look. The boy blushed as she walked off in a hurry, pulling his hoodie over his head in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. It wasn't like he could blame her, because lord knew his thoughts weren't all that innocent.

He needed to find a place to rest, a place where he could sleep and forget about his empty stomach for a little while.

It was going to be a cold night.

 

* * *

 

He'd outdone himself, if by ' _out doing ones self_ ' a person were to say ' _you've fucked up yet again, asshole._ '

In all honesty, Karkat Vantas wondered what had EVER lead him to beg for this apprenticeship. Every day wound up with a ruined batch of bread coming home with him rather than making their way to the trash. Part of him wondered if his boss was setting him up, or if he really was just shit at everything he touched. (Hadn't his family told him that time and time again, growing up?)

The youth balanced a large bag of burnt and defective bread on his hip. Deft fingers turned the lock on the door as he let out a long frustrated sigh.

"Way to go, Vantas. Another day, another dollar, another fucked up baguette." He hauled his coat over the top of the bag to keep it dry, muttering to himself as he started down the street. "At least I'm not going to go hungry where bread is concerned. No meat, no vegetables, but I have a surplus of proof that I'm not meant to be a baker. Here lies Karkat fucking _Vantas_. He died of wheat overload and a severe lack of real food. Fuck me."

His apartment was a few blocks away, far enough that any person in their right mind(or the right balance in their bank account) would have taken the bus. Karkat was not one of those people. It resulted in a long walk back to the building he'd come to call home. Every step was purposeful. Each fell hard into puddles, the splashes accentuating his frustration with his role in the world. Water soaked in to his jeans and shoes, making him even more angry, somehow proving that he wasn't worthy of any sort of comfort afforded 'normal' people. Wasn't that just how the world went? Life sucked for Karkat and everyone else sat on rose petals and puked sunshine?

The approach to his apartment was a down-sloping hill, and he hated it with a passion. The rain slicked the ground, and made paths that were blocked by perpetual roadwork nearly impassable without a grip on a fence. It was a long time before he managed to come to a stop at his building, fumbling for the keys to the gate.

Chilled, numbed fingers managed to drop the tools several times, resulting in a flurry of white hot curses that allowed him to pretend he was warming up. A final fumble with the keys sent them skidding down the sidewalk, making him snarl loudly.

"How the _hell_ do I wind up, not only out in the rain, but stuck with the most _useless_ building in the city? You morons could have upgraded to button entry, by now. It's not that expensive, after all, but no. You act like primordial ooze with maybe half a cell to function as a thought receptacle. How the _fuck_ did I wind up stuck here?" he stomped, spreading muddy water on the walk, fingers fishing in puddles. _"God damn it_."

As the disgruntled teenager made his way down the walk littered with puddles, the rusted fence behind him closed with a loud clatter that was only barely muffled by the steady rain. The apartment itself split straight down the middle, opening up to a narrow corridor where a single flight of stairs led up to the next two flights. The steps themselves creaked with each step, much like everything else in the run-down, probably maggot-ridden complex. Okay, so maybe no one here had seen maggots crawling anywhere, but the wood was so decrepit there might as well be. One of these days someone was going to break their neck walking down those stairs. Even the landlady hated walking up them in fear one step would split under her foot and send her to the emergency room, but apparently it didn't concern her enough to actually get them repaired. Or better yet, replaced.

But today, something about those annoying stairs was different. This time, there was something large and dark blue under them, in the spot where the one neighbor would toss his garbage bags instead of actually taking them out to the dumpster until trash day, subjecting all the other tenants to suffer the stink every time someone had to walk through the corridor.

Usually Karkat gave his neighbors oh-so-considerate nature the simplest sneer and walk on, but it occurred to him that he'd never seen bags come in that shade of blue. The thought occurred, as he was unlocking his apartment door, that this might actually be something he could use.

He tiptoed back down the stairs, craning his neck to see what his potential prize was.

It didn't seem like anything special, sitting beside a discarded cardboard box, the blue color almost the same shade as the dull, damp concrete of the first floor. However, by the time Karkat made an effort to get a second glance, the blue lump moved, a small sneeze carrying through the stairwell.

If it hadn't been so quiet in the area, the youth might not have caught it. As it was, he'd been startled down a couple of steps, and barely managed to catch the bars of the rickety hand rail.

Once he managed to regain his balance he stepped around the rail, peering at the bundle.

"Hey, idiot. I don't care if you got locked out or whatever but staying under the railing during a rainstorm is a bit far on the scale of ' _passive aggressive'_ for anyone."

Blue eyes looked up at Karkat in surprise, pale white hands moving to nervously pull the dark blue hoodie down even further. "O-oh." He stuttered - yes, it was definitely a boy - and did a double-take down the other end of the corridor, as if expecting someone else to come walking out. "Um, sorry. I can leave if I'm bothering you or something."

Those eyes were stunning, and something about them made a catch in his chest. He ground the emotion, glaring at the other boy.

"No, you're not _bothering_ me. How could you be _bothering_ me? Loitering in my building is a perfectly normal and acceptable activity for any given human being on a rainy day in the middle of the Fall. Congratulations my friend, you're a trend setter. You're drawing perfectly reasonable people out of the nice, toasty, mold infested apartments to languish out here in the ice-cold hell that is this rainstorm." He gestured to the area behind him.

Karkat was met with incredulous blinking, closely followed by unabashed giggling. The hood that the boy had once tried to pull over his face fell to his back as he leaned forward to clamp a hand over his mouth. His hair was black much like Karkat's, but it was rather messy and looked... well, perhaps it didn't look disgusting by any means, but it wasn't the cleanest. And it stuck out at odd angles like he had the worst bed-head in more than one place.

"Oh my gosh, do you do that every time you talk to someone?" He grinned, pushing the thin-framed glasses back up his nose, since they had fallen slightly during his brief fit of laughter. "You have like, the worst case of word-vomit I think I've ever seen!"

He narrowed his eyes critically, eyeing the youth with a barely contained clucking tongue.

"Fuck you. Here I am, about to offer to do you a goddamned favor, and you're sitting there laughing at me." Guilt wasn't about to let him leave the kid out there looking like that. That had been him once, and someone had given him a hand up. Hadn't he been told to ' _pay it forward_ ', like the kid in the movie of that very same name?

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you!" The boy paused after raising his hands up defensively, coming to the realization that yeah, he kind of did. Oops. "I just wasn't expecting that sort of reaction I guess?"

Just as his lips upturned and he breathed out another chuckle, his expression fell halfway to a deadpan, and he looked back up at Karkat. "Wait, you were gonna do me a favor? What for?"

"You're roughly my age, sitting under the stairs of my apartment in the middle of a rainstorm, looking like a pile of shit. If I didn't do it no one else would. Get off your ass." Karkat forced a scowl, tapping a foot on the ground to emphasize impatience. "Try not to take your time at it, too. I don't want to get sick out here."

The boy did a weird dance with his hands, fingers clenching and unclenching a few times, before he finally decided he had the willpower to stand. A little too quick getting to his feet, he smacked his forehead on the underside of a wooden step, eliciting a muffled sound of pain. He rubbed at his head and stepped towards Karkat, giving him an expectant look. The teenager looked a bit more ragged upon closer inspection. His jeans had quite a few tears in them, all of them in the wrong places to pass as an expensive designer brand. His blue hoodie had a hole in the front pocket, and it looked like it hadn't been washed in quite some time. Not to mention his tennis shoes looked a bit too big for his feet (aside from looking far too 'lived in').

"It's really not that cold out." The boy offered with a small smile, though his cheeks were a little rosy from the chill in the air. "I've been in worse."

"It's pretty damned cold." He grunted, reaching out to grab for the boy's wrist. "Let's get you upstairs, dried off, and fed... And you'd damned well better help with the dishes or some shit. You're not going to just stay for free."

Stay? No, Karkat that's a bad idea. Stop. The thought was pushed to the back of hsi head. He might regret this later, but he'd regret not doing this more than anything else.

"S-stay?!" The grubby teen stuttered, but he let Karkat drag him up the stairs. He watched his feet once they got to the second floor, lips barely parted in a sophisticated slackjaw of a dumbstruck kid. What just happened here, really? Did he just exchange barely two minutes of conversation with a guy then get invited into his home? The boy gulped, unsure of himself. Did he do something without realizing it?

"Uh. Wow." The teenager finally grew a backbone and stopped them both as Karkat opened the door to his apartment. "That's... this is really generous of you, but are you sure you want to invite a complete stranger into your home? What if I was a serial killer or something? Or is this a hobby of yours? Wait, what if _you're_ a serial killer?!"

He sighed heavily, studying the boy before he spoke finally.

"If I was a serial killer I wouldn't be picking some random chump who chose to roost under my house steps." he tilted his head to the side and continued on. "If _you_ were a serial killer you might have managed to get clothes that don't look like they've been worn for three weeks straight, and you probably wouldn't be roosting under my house steps. That said: If you don't get in from the rain the nagging voice in the back of my head that I'm pretty sure belongs to my grand mother is going to lecture me until I come back out and drag you in by your nasty looking hair. What do you do all day? Roll in dirt?"

Another slow blink. "Uh..." Came the rather intelligent reply. Well, that was eloquent. "Not all the time? I mean sometimes you can't help it. Dirt's all over the place! Oh gosh wait, I'm going to track this into your home, aren't I?" He shuffled his feet, kicking the heel of his toe on the ground in attempt to free some of the semi-dried clumps that clung to the heel of his shoe. It wasn't his fault it got muddy when it rained!

"It's a shitty apartment. Get the worst of it off and we'll what you've got in the wash or some shit." Keys jangled in his hands as he worked on the door, glancing at his new house-guest around his hood. "Just answer me this: What the fuck is your name?"

"Oh! My name's John." The newcomer offered a friendly smile, hands fidgeting a little with the sleeves of his hoodie. He continued to scrape the mud from his shoes, but he soon opted to ditch them and leave them outside entirely, slipping out of them and leaving his slightly damp socks there with him. "What's your name?"

"Karkat. Vantas." He held the door open, his own shoes abandoned outside. "Get in here. You're not saving those tonight."

Wow, this guy was kind of pushy! Maybe he _should_ be concerned that this Karkat guy was a serial killer or something. "Karkat?" He echoed the name and stepped inside the apartment, which wasn't actually all that warmer inside, but it was miles better than a wet fifty degrees. "Haha, that's a funny name! I bet you got teased a lot as a kid!"

Karkat glared at John, giving him his best 'I _'m pissed off, but you're surviving by my own supreme benevolence_ ' look, and started in on him. "You have an _obnoxiously_ common name that proves to me that either your parents didn't give a shit and pulled it out of their ass, or cared enough to pick one that was common enough for you to fly under the proverbial radar. Are we playing the ' _obvious game_ ', John?"

"Hey! My mom cares about me a lot!" John insisted, lips turning to an indignant pout. "At least she didn't give me a name that makes people think _beep beep meow_. Hehe, that's actually really funny!"

Quick, tense hands stripped off a soaked windbreaker that was dropped by the door, and the host launched in to speech again.

"My mother was out of it when she decided to put my name to paper. I think they let her get high immediately following squeezing out my pathetic form, and I sincerely _doubt_ she actually had a plan when she put the two words together. ' _Let's take Kar from your name, and Kat from mine! hee hee hoo hoo best idea ever! Clearly I'm legitimately worthy of being given this child for the next sixteen to eighteen years of it's life_!'" he put on a mock feminine voice, batting his eyelashes before dropping back into his natural tenor. "Take off that hoodie. I need to do laundry anyway, I guess I'll do yours, too."

John rolled his eyes and stripped the blue hoodie without a second word, though he revealed an even dirtier white t-shirt (could that even be considered white?) that had a few suspicious stains on it. Suspicious stains that didn't look just like dirt or sweat or normal things people get coated in on a daily basis. There was a disgusting green stain right smack in the middle of his chest - oh wait, that stain had a face. Whatever t-shirt he was wearing had what looked like a chipper green turd on the front of it.

"... Sixteen?" The boy offered the blue hoodie to his new host, brows furrowing together in a displeased knit. "So you live with your parents? Is it really okay that I stay here?"

"I live on my own. I relieved my parents of myself. That's all that needs to be sa--what the _fuck_ is...You just _dwell_ in your _filth_?" he shouted, storming past the boy toward his room. "Stay there. Don't touch anything, don't shuffle your feet. Don't move." His home was neat and clean. It wasn't much, but it was his, and he'd be _damned_ if he was going to let dirt just live there.

John opened his mouth to protest, but the words died in his throat as he looked down, and pulled his shirt a bit to take a look at it. Karkat was right, this thing _was_ filthy. Oh god, was that blood from last week? Hopefully he could write that off as mud. Oh, gross.

The bespectacled teen looked up and noticed Karkat was gone. At first he thought that reaction was a little uncalled for, it wasn't like he had _mold_ growing on him or something; but then he finally took in the scene before him. A short little hall for an entryway, and he could see part of what he suspected to be the living room-kitchen area, and it was all freaking spotless. Parts of the wall next to him had some worn paint, and the molding near the ceiling looked like it was trying to divorce the wall, but everything was unexpectedly clean for a sixteen year old runaway.

Whoa. Karkat was a runaway. They were in a similar spot then, huh? John knew first hand that living on your own at such a young age was no easy feat - but this guy, Karkat, was able to find himself a home. Did he go to work to pay for it? That was more than John was ever able to accomplish.

"So I figure you're probably around the same measures as me so you might fit this shit, but god help you if you ruin it." Karkat called as he came back from his room. In his arms were a pair of carefully folded jeans, a dark gray sweater and a pair of towels. "You'll go in to the bathroom. You'll strip. You'll shower — If I have to walk you through that I swear I will end you--You'll dry yourself off and get in to this stuff. When you're done with that, you'll toss that crap you're _currently_ trying to pass off as 'clothes' in the tub, fill it with water, and we'll toss soap in on top of that. Maybe we save it, maybe we burn it."

John was cool with everything up until the burning part. "What? Oh hell no! This is my favorite shirt!" He clenched at the hem as if he was expecting Karkat to try and rip it straight off his person. "And also kind of my only shirt! You can't even find these anymore dude, it's vintage!"

"' _Vintage_ ' doesn't mean ' _stained to the point of no longer being respected as a piece of clothing'_ , John. It means 'this came from a good era. It is untouched and unchanged, and of high quality'. Let's count the things that that thing _isn't_... It'd actually be easier to count what it 'is', now that I think about it." he sneered, starting in by holding out a finger for each subject. "It's old. Check. It's got a design on it that ugh I don't know _someone_ might appreciate. Check. It's _growing its own ecosystem._ Big ass check. _Oh_. Look at that. That's a big one. That took aaaaaaall my fingers to count. Wow."

"But it's _Ghostbusters_!" John whined, face contorted into a horrified expression of a child that just watched someone take their dog behind a shed, not a teenager about to hand over a shirt stained beyond repair. "We can't toss the shirt, okay? I've had this since I came here!"

Oh sure, the kid was fine waltzing into a stranger's home without much of a second thought, but godforbid you try and take his shirt away.

Karkat growled, rubbing a hand over his face, trying to fight down his frustration.

"Alright, I won't throw it away, but if we can't save it, you don't get to wear it in my house. Or outside my house. Or in my presence. Got it?" Anything to get this kid to get cleaned up.

John huffed lightly in reply, obviously not keen on the idea, but he resigned. "Fine." He grumbled, finally eying the clothes Karkat was kind enough to bring him, and he extended a hesitant hand for them. "... Are you sure you don't mind me wearing your stuff?" It looked so clean. Almost too clean. It wasn't like he was a particularly unhygienic person, but he didn't exactly get new clothes often. And when he did, they were tattered and worn. These looked so crisp and new, it was kind of intimidating in a really stupid way.

"I'm fine. You can keep that set, and if you wind up sticking around, we'll get you new shit. Sound good?" he set the clothes down on the couch, tapping a foot on the ground.

Sticking around? Getting new stuff? John stood there, speechless. There was no way Karkat was really expecting him to stay for an extended length of time, right? "Wuh --" John eloquently tied his own tongue in an attempt to reply. "You... you'd let me _stay_ here? But, I mean, you're only a year older than me. And you only just met me!"

Generous didn't even begin to describe it. Even if he ended up getting kicked out after a few days, the mere fact that someone would even consider taking him in no questions asked was unfathomable. He'd met some nice people in the past, but this was some other uncharted level of kindness he had no idea the people here were capable of. In truth, that sort of offer made him more suspicious than ever; but even with his best efforts, he couldn't detect any sort of ill will behind Karkat's intentions. And he knew a thing or two about such negativity.

He bit his lip. He kind of almost felt like tearing up, but that was far too cliche. Did he just step into some sort of girly drama flick? "That's..." He swallowed, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. "I think... you're the kindest person I've ever met."

"Carry your own weight, don't be a little shit and we'll see how it goes. And don't give me that. I'm just doing what was done for me." Karkat's cheeks and ears colored, and he threw his arms across his chest, folding them tight. "Someone has to."

John smiled in budding adoration. For a moment he pondered just where he'd be now if it hadn't been for the bone-chilling rain that pushed him into the stairwell. For the first time in a long time, the homeless teenager felt like he found a friend. Though Karkat certainly had a mouth on him (not to mention a pretty impressive vocabulary and a colorful imagination when it came to insults), but he was a good guy, wasn’t he? John found himself hoping that even if he was to get kicked out of this too-good-to-be-true situation, he could still be friends with this kid. It was a wonderful feeling. He loved it."Hehe, gosh." He didn't really know what else to say. Which was probably a good thing, since Karkat looked like the type who wasn't comfortable being showered in compliments, no matter how much John wanted to gush about how in a short ten minutes, Karkat's shown him more kindness than he's received from anyone else in an entire year. He didn't want to get sappy, anyway. "I guess I'll go shower then. Don't want to muck up your place, it's so freakishly clean!"

"It's not FREAKISH. It's the perfect amount of clean for someone living on their own." Karkat fought back a growl and pointed toward the bathroom. "Get. Clean. Now."

The boy ginned, making his way down the hall, noticing the bathroom door was already cracked open. He made his way down towards the door, opening it - but he paused before stepping in, a laugh barely audible under his breath. "I like the matching towels and bath mat!" He called before closing the door behind him. Now, John had been in bathrooms before. He may be homeless, but he's seen his share of gas station restrooms and... as much as he wouldn't like to admit it, he's used showers in motels. None of them paled in comparison to the glorious scene of cleanliness before him. The shower stall was devoid of water stains and other questionable discoloration, the sink wasn't clogged, he could actually _see_ in the mirror, and holy shit his soap dispenser has adorable little ducks on them. Perhaps John was blowing this all way out of proportion, but he'd never been able to have this sort of luxury. He probably spent a little too long messing with the temperature controls in the shower, but after stripping his clothes and reveling in the feel of clean water, he started feeling like a kid in a toy story. Not wanting to run up the water bill (does Karkat have one of those? Do apartments work like that?), he stopped fooling around and washed himself, scrubbing every inch of his body down. He wasn't sure what "conditioner" was, or why it supposedly smelled like spring rain and lavender, but he loved the smell so he attempted to lather some of that around. Once he was done, he reluctantly turned the water off, though the bathroom stayed pleasantly warm. He pulled a towel around his waist and grabbed his dirty clothes in a bunch before opening the door. He began to wander down the hall and - oh shoot, something was hanging out. Readjust the towel, hide the offending appendage. Okay, he couldn't make that mistake twice. Gotta keep an eye on that. "Karkat?" He called expectantly, peering into the living room.

The smell of chicken and vegetable something was wafting from the kitchen. Pops and splashes of something hitting a cooking surface were met with loud, violent curses as.

"The _fuck_ do you want, John? Can't figure out how to put pants on on your own? I'm not coming in there to show you how to do something simians can do on their own." He leaned out the door, shaking a spoon in the direction of the bathroom. "Get your ass dressed and over here if you expect to get anything to eat!"

Oh. Oh right, Karkat picked out clothes for him. "Where do I put my old clothes? Do you have a bio-waste can to comically toss them in?" He didn't really wait for a response and just dumped them unceremoniously on the ground beside the couch before grabbing the clean clothes. Well this was a little awkward. Was it weird for someone to wear another person's underwear? John stared at the pair of gray boxers at the top of the pile, but decided to dismiss the idea and just shook his head.

"Bathtub, unless you didn't want to try to save it." Karkat shouted back, rattling things around in the kitchen. "Run the water, warm, I'll bring in some Oxyclean and we can see how it does after an hour's soak."

From the sound of it, the boy had been there before: Saving clothes from the brink of death in order to continue using them, perhaps to save money.

"Oxywhat? Oh nevermind." John shrugged and took both piles of clothes back to the bathroom, and began running the water into the bath even though it took him a minute to figure out how to plug the drain. While he waited for the tub to fill up with enough water, he pulled on the clean clothes, unable to stop himself from being amazed at how nice they smelled. It smelled a little bit like the conditioner, but not exactly. Once he was decent, he turned the water off and walked barefoot back into the living room, and straight up to the counter dividing the two rooms. He took in the aroma of whatever it was Karkat had heating up. "Whoa, that smells awesome! I didn't take you for a guy who knows how to cook."

"It's left overs from my boss's wife. She decided I was too skinny and sent me home with tubs of stew. Grab a stool. Food stays at the counter, no where else. I don't want to clean up any messes tonight." The elder boy scrutinized his blue eyed house-guest.

"Oh! Um... I'm not really hungry." John nervously tapped his fingers on the counter a few times, and averted his eyes, suddenly very interested in the cabinetry. "I ate not all that long ago."

"You were hiding under my stairs not too long ago. I'm seriously doubting the validity of that statement."

That obviously didn't work. Time for Plan B. Wait, what was Plan B? Did he have some sort of disease where he couldn't process food? Oh yeah that sounded real believable. "I really actually don't have much of an appetite." He gave Karkat a bit of an embarrassed glance, scratching at his cheek. "I'll have a bit I guess, but you should really just save it for yourself. You'd be kind of amazed at how little I really need to eat. Besides, you're letting me stay here, and that's more than I ever could have asked for."

An exasperated sigh passed Karkat's lips as he ladled some stew in to a bowl and broke off a piece of baguette, shoving them toward John.

"How about you eat, or you don't. If you don't finish it, you cover it and put it back in the fridge and eat it for breakfast tomorrow?"

John blinked down at the bowl in front of him, steam lifting gracefully off the surface. When was the last time he had something hot to eat? He swallowed. It really tugged at his conscience to take something from someone who was already offering him so much; especially when he didn't actually need to eat. Not in this sense. But he couldn't help it - with the smell so strong and tantalizing, John already felt his mouth start to water. Okay, maybe a little bit wouldn't hurt. It's not like having a bowl of stew would eat Karkat out of house and home.

He took a sip. "Oh my gosh, this is awesome!" He exclaimed, happily taking another spoonful, this time trying a small chunk of chicken and carrot together. Oh wow, this was _really_ good. What were those little circular bits? And the green lumps? Oh well, he wasn't going to get picky now. John grabbed for the bread, noticing the odd color. It was darker than the bread he'd been used to seeing. "... What kind of bread is this?"

"It's rye. Now eat it." the other boy puffed a cheek, spooning some into a bowl of his own before climbing onto a stool and beginning to eat over the counter. "I'll pass on the praise to the boss man and his wife."

Rye, huh? John took a bite of the bread, finishing the mouthful before smiling. "It's super crunchy. I like it!" He proceeded to dip some into the soup and tried that, too.

Karkat let out a little snort, and shrugged, continuing with his meal.

This might not be so bad. He'd been lonely for a long time, after all, hadn't he?

 

* * *

 

Later that night, John took up residency on the couch in the living room. It was a little worn, but it was incredibly comfortable - not that the teenage runaway had high standards when it came to sleeping quarters. Karkat mentioned that it was given to him by a co-worker, since they were planning on throwing it out in the garbage anyway. It was a shame, because the pattern on the fabric looked a little dated, and it looked like a cat might have gotten a hold of one corner and used it as a scratching post for an afternoon, but other than that it was a perfectly good couch. Some people could be so wasteful! John would have killed to have this couch to sleep on this entire time. Okay, maybe not _kill_ , but you know.

Like a lot of things that happened that day, it had been a long time since John was able to sleep so soundly. It was all so surreal; in a matter of minutes, he went from an aimless kid with no home and no idea where he was going to go next, to a kid _without_ dirt in his hair and an actual home to stay in. The following morning was a little awkward, since it was obvious both teenagers weren't used to sharing their space with someone else, but it was kind of a refreshing awkwardness.

They started off with small talk over breakfast (which consisted of a single strawberry for John, after saying he really didn't like eating in the mornings), and they laid down a few ground rules: No loud noises if Karkat had to get up early for work, no bringing home strange women, or men for that matter. John couldn't help but giggle nervously, and thankfully Karkat didn't catch the hesitant undertone. No throwing dirty clothes on the floor, no leaving dishes in the sink without rinsing them. Basic stuff.

Karkat had also insisted that John needed to stop acting like a guest and more like a roommate; and honestly, as the next day passed, that didn't seem so hard to do. Though they squabbled often, they both quickly found that they enjoyed each other's company. Even if their tastes in movies seemed to be from entirely different planets. They took a walk later that day around the block to a small convenience store for a quart of milk and a carton of eggs.

Karkat didn't look too sure if he thought John was kidding or was really just that pitiful when John stated he'd never tried eggs before. They ended up having breakfast for dinner that night, and found a few shows on TV to watch.

John just couldn't believe that he spent an entire day just relaxing, not worrying about what city to go to or where to hunker down for the night, worrying about how cold it would be or if it would rain again. It was around that second episode of CSI that John just up and surprised Karkat with a hug, giving him a heartfelt thanks. He promised he'd find some way to be of use to earn his keep, just before he was shrugged off and told not to hug without warning.

They could sense they both felt good though, the relief of being helped and the joy of helping someone was a sentiment they both shared.

The second day, Karkat had to go to work. John insisted they leave the dishes for him to do, because it wasn't like he had anything else to do while Karkat went to the bakery. He busied himself with cleaning up around the house while Karkat was out, though there wasn't a whole lot of work to be done. The floors look recently swept (though he still swept parts of it just to be sure), and there wasn't a whole lot of dust lining the cabinets and counter-tops. It didn't take long for John to feel sort of useless. Perhaps since he now has a stable home, he could go and try and find a job somewhere. How did someone even begin to do that? He'd seen it in movies before but he wasn't too sure on the details.

Karkat got home later that day, and they talked some more over dinner - though once again, John hardly ate anything. When he did, he nibbled and savored the taste rather than eat considerable amounts. They talked briefly about John looking for a job, but Karkat quickly dismissed it and told him he could relax for a while before he had to worry about that. John had no choice but to comply, since it wasn't like he even knew how to figure out what the first step would be. John went to sleep fairly early. And the next morning, he looked a bit pale. Karkat asked if he was feeling fine, and John shrugged it off as just normal fatigue from traveling. The following night though, when Karkat got home, John looked even worse. He didn't seem downright ill though, so Karkat let one more day pass as he went to work again.

And it was later that night, it got worse. While they were watching some auction reality show, John turned over onto his stomach , curling up halfway into a ball with a tiny sound passing his lips.

The sound grabbed at Karkat's attention, and he turned to peer at John. Concern tugged at the corners of his face and he reached over to touch his shoulder.

"Are you alright? You're making sounds like someone kicked you or something..."

The boy visibly flinched at Karkat's touch, and he turned around hesitantly, back against the armrest of the couch. His complexion was pale - quite a bit more than it was just a few hours ago. John took in a quiet, sharp breath once before speaking up."Ah, um. I'm fine! I'm just not feeling so hot I guess." He swallowed nervously, and found that he was averting his eyes from Karkat pretty regularly. Fuck. Fuck him, fuck the world, fuck the universe and just. Fuck. He _knew_ he should have left last night, but he was just too worried about the floors creaking. It wouldn't have been good to wake Karkat up, and having him question just what John was planning on doing, leaving at midnight without so much as an explanation. It would have looked really sketchy coming from a guy he's known for all of three days, even if they had become fast friends. "Just tired. Maybe we should both go to bed early?" Leave, Karkat. Please leave.

"Yeah, you look like shit. That's not to say you don't normally, but this is a stretch." Karkat gave him a worrying look, reaching to touch his forehead. His hand pulled back as he thought better of it, and he stood, tugging the blanket off the back of the couch. "Get some rest, idiot. If you're not better in the morning I'll see about taking you to a free clinic or something... Maybe they won't call child services, if we're lucky, you know? But..."

There was a heavy sigh as he spread the blanket out, then draped it over John.

"I don't know, maybe in some cases it's better for child services to get involved?"

"Wh-what?" John sat up in surprise, shoving a corner of the blanket off of him because he felt warm, way too warm as it were. "I mean, I'm fifteen. I'm kind of past the age for that, aren't I? And I-"Oh god, another wave. They were getting worse now. The raven-haired boy clenched his eyes shut and he leaned into the headrest of the couch, one hand raising to clench at the fabric just below his chin. No - no no no, he had to wait just a little while longer. A few more minutes, and he could just _let go_ , and it would be over before he knew it. But only if Karkat would _leave_ , why was he still here? Heat rushed from his face to his stomach, and his muscles tensed far beyond comfort. His toes curled and he released a small raspy whimper despite his best efforts to keep any sort of noise down.

No, the sensation wasn't going away this time, even if it was a bit better now. He had to leave, and he had to leave _now_ , because it was only going to get worse.

His mind was a flurry of fear and anticipation as he bit down on his tongue to keep himself from tipping over the edge. There was no way he was going to blow this after only three days. He liked Karkat, he _really liked_ him. He wanted to stay here, maybe for a long time! Even if it wasn't going to be forever, he wanted to stay and get to know Karkat even more, and maybe make more friends in the community, get a job and actually feel like a normal human for once in his life. A shaky leg swung over a cushion, and set foot to the carpet. Though he swayed unsteadily, he quickly stood up and looked towards the front door. "I - I have to go."

The movement might have been quick, but it was unsteady. It allowed enough time for Karkat to scramble over and catch him by the wrist.

"Are you completely _demented_? We're in the middle of storm season. You came here soaking wet, worse for wear. God only knows what you picked up out there. Leave now and you'll make yourself worse. No. Lay the fuck back down and close your eyes." There was a hint of panic in the boy's voice. Had he lost someone to illness?

John's breath was getting noticeably heavier. There was a raspy undertone every once and a while that escalated almost to a half-gurgling sound, and it only amplified when Karkat grabbed his wrist. "I'm _not_!" He raised his voice, turning to glare weakly at the older teen as he tried to yank his wrist free, but to no avail. "I just... Karkat please, let me go. Please, I don't want to - not to you, please. I can't-!" He reached up, grabbing at Karkat's fingers with his free hand, trying to pry his grip off. He could just force him to let go, it would be so easy - but he couldn't do it with enough subtlety for Karkat not to notice. The slightly shorter boy pulled back another few feet in a burst of energy, until his back hit the wall. Fuck, where was the door again?

Karkat growled, stumbling forward after the boy.

"Hold still, for fucks' sake! You'll get worse if you go outside right now!"

"I won't! Let me go, just for a few minutes, just -" John cut himself short with a cringe, and he hunched over himself, his limbs beginning to burn. Anxiety swelled up like a whirlpool in his chest, sinking his heart and feeding knots into his stomach. He couldn't let go here, not with Karkat so close! He couldn't do something so horrible to someone who had been so kind, so genuinely selfless...But his willpower was beginning to fade. His was hungry, so god damn _hungry_. He was shaky and weak, he felt light-headed and sick. If he didn't get some sort of nourishment soon, he wasn't sure how much longer he'd last. His concentration began to slip. The hand he had grasped against Karkat's gripped harder, and something sharp dug faintly into Karkat's tan skin, just below his knuckles. John felt his bangs shift forwards just a little bit, as they brushed against his glasses. A glint of ivory appeared just above his ears, snaking towards the back of his head in a graceful wave.

Karkat's eyes widened, blinked. He shook his head to see if that would clear the image away but it wasn't helping.

"J-John. What the _hell_ is going on??" he gripped tighter, determined not to let go. He might be loosing his mind to some kind of fever.

Panic rose in John's throat like bile. His legs gave out, body sliding down to the floor in a defeated _thump_ , limbs shaking as he threw his only free hand over the side of his head, where he could feel his now visible horns. "N-NO!" He practically screamed, though his voice cracked pitifully in the middle. Tears began to sting his eyes even though he was determined to keep them clenched tightly shut, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He didn't want to lose this! He didn't want to lose _Karkat_!A now clawed hand shook in Karkat's grasp. "Don't look at me!" John cried, fingers digging into his own hair, close to ripping it out. "Let me go, _please_!!"

The boy looked at the hand he was holding, examining the claws as he sank down next to John. He carefully reached out to touch his head, brushing his fingers through the other kid's hair.

"Shhh." He whispered. Was he scared? Yeah. But he was also a sucker for tears and angst (anyone could look at his movie collection and infer that). His hand was shivering a little as he smoothed John's hair, skirting his horns. "It's alright. It's alright. Relax."

The gentle touch was unexpected. It actually shot right through his chest more than a slap to the face or outright screaming ever would have, and it startled him. Blue eyes blurred with tears opened back up, and John stared apprehensively at Karkat, expression contorted into one of regret and self-loathing. A tear fell down his cheek, and in the dim light of Karkat's tiny apartment, the shaking boy's eyes began to change erratically. His sclera looked as though someone poured ink over them, as a cloud of black covered them in a breath's time. His pupils dilated slightly and thinned into slits like a feline, before beginning to glow a bright aqua. He was beginning to lose all grasp on his concealing spell. And by the look on Karkat's face, he noticed. How could anyone not notice? "I'm sorry," John whimpered, voice half choking as he spoke. "I - I didn't mean to deceive to you! I swear, I w-wasn't going to feast on you, I promise! I promise, Karkat!"

The ' _feast_ ' bit took a few moments to process. The phrase rumbled through his head as he studied the boy curled on his floor. The boy who suddenly looked so very much different than the one he'd brought home. ' _You idiot. What did you get yourself into?_ '

"Back the fuck up, okay? I don't even know what the hell you are so you're apologizing for assumptions I haven't even fucking _made_ yet. Putting words in my mouth and I don't appreciate that. Yeah. You don't look like ya did at breakfast. Ok. Gimmy a few minutes. I might figure out how to be properly fucking _stunned_ that someone in my life isn't _exactly_ what they said they were – Oh. Wait. That's the entire spectrum of the life that belongs to Karkat ' _your mother was a drunk and your father walked out on you_ ' Vantas. You just happen to _look_ different. Not like the kids in school who're all ' _come sit at our table eat your lunch with us when you're out we're going to talk about how stained your pants are and how messy your hair is_ '. I _guess_ you haven't been trying to play me for a fool this whole time because you seem like you're pretty genuinely fucked up over this, so I can forgive you for not saying ' _oh, Karkat. I've got weird eyes and horns. Thought you should know._ ' Seriously, John. You're an idiot." He took a large breath before continuing. "And at any rate really any problems stemming from this are really my own making since I invited you in on a whim. I'm the kind of douchebag they make sixty minute specials about. ' _Emancipated minor brings in stranger from the streets. More at ten_.'"

Karkat's overzealous rant left John even more stunned than before, staring wide eyed at the taller teenager - not a great combination considering how freakish his eyes were at the moment. Two thin streaks of tears now stained his cheeks, but while his eyes continued to look glassy, he didn't look like he was about to bawl anymore. His previously shaking limbs were no longer quivering like dry leaves. "Y... _Your_ fault?!" John yelled, giving Karkat the most incredulous stare. His mouth hung halfway open for a moment before he felt like he could find the words to continue. He could hardly fathom the fact that Karkat just went on a long-winded rant, defending him even though the older teen had absolutely no reason to. It would have been so much easier to deal with _what the fuck are you, get out_ , but no, Karkat didn't give him something that simple.

"You wouldn't have to be dealing with this if I had just left _last_ night! Oh god - Karkat, please let me go now. I promise I'm not running away or anything, just let me go, I can't stay here any longer!"

"You're not running, but you can't stay, either." There was a note of hurt in his voice that he was trying to layer over with spite. One by one the fingers let go of the wrist they were still hanging on to. He closed his eyes and pulled his hand back toward himself. "A contradiction. Guess you won't come back if you leave, either, huh? Go ahead and go then. Whatever. Not like I went out of my way or anything. This is what happens when you care about people and listen to that nagging little voice in the back of your head that tells you ' _Hey, it's a good idea to do this_.'"

He was trying to sound angry, but his voice and face weren't telling the same story.

"I... If you leave are you coming back?" His voice cracked as he spoke, and he tried to make the floor look like the most interesting thing he'd seen all year. He wasn't crying. Not Karkat. He hadn't gotten used to having someone nearby again so fast. Not him. Nope.

"Karkat..." John whispered, watching as Karkat drew his gaze south, down towards the floor between them. His voice was wavering too, wasn't it? Did he really still care about the runaway in front of him, even after seeing how he was a monster?

"Karkat...." It almost sounded like an echo, as John reached for the older teen - but his flinched and paused before his fingers touched Karkat's sleeved arm, claws barely inches away even though John had no problem hanging all over his new roommate before. "I won't... I won't disappear. I'll come back, okay? If you'll let me, I..." Fuck, the last of his spell had worn off by now. His tail awkwardly rested just above the hem of his jeans, which were already stretched uncomfortably to accommodate the change in his legs, and his shirt grew tighter around his chest thanks to the new appendages on his back. He didn't have much time, but the release of the concealing spell gave him a little more energy to hold out. "I won't abandon you, Karkat. If you.... if you won't abandon me."

Karkat fingers tugged at the pile as he glanced to his friend.

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

John took in a shallow, sharp breath, heart thudding heavy in his chest. He stared at Karkat with a conflicting gaze, torn between trying to fabricate something to make it easier for the both of them to deal with, and... just telling him the truth.

The thought of lying to Karkat sat like curdled milk in his stomach. The older teen had absolutely no problem explaining to John the tribulations of his past, and opened up to him readily like they were old friends. If John couldn't extend the same amount of trust, could he really call himself Karkat's friend?

In any case, perhaps the worst was already out in the open. Karkat probably already had a good idea that his new roommate wasn't human. It couldn't get much worse than that - it _was_ worse, but not by much in comparison. If Karkat was accepting of this fact already, then perhaps...Karkat was a good person. And even though John wasn't entirely sure of himself at this point, he trusted him.

"... I thought it would scare you." He admitted with a lump in his throat. His nervously gaze averted a few times, but he did his best to keep his eyes on the teen in front of him. "I m-mean, who wouldn't freak the fuck out? I'm... I'm not exactly human."

"You know what scares me?" Karkat snapped, turning his attention to his friend. "Thinking the people I actually give a shit about are going to get hurt or die or something and pardon me for not being as scared of _you_ as you thought I'd be but really compared to some of the things you see pass by you on the streets or on the news you're really not as terrifying as you're trying to make yourself out to be. You're a kid with horns and weird eyes who was perched out in the cold and needed a hand and I'm pretty sure that I'd still have helped you even if you showed up looking like... _this._ " he gestured, brows furrowed with frustration.

John isn't sure why he keeps getting surprised by Karkat's responses. It was amazing enough to know he'd offer his home to someone he never met before - give him clothes, food, a place to sleep, and not once did expect anything of value in return. John found himself grinning wearily up at the older teenager, a small chuckle passing his lips.

"You're more of a weirdo than I thought." He teased, but the tears welling up in his eyes once more proved he was just trying to cover up a compliment that tugged at his heartstrings more than he'd like to admit. Finally John initiated contact; he placed one hand on Karkat's arm, and he leaned forward, head tentatively resting against the other's shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Karkat..." He whispered, voice wavering slightly with choked up sincerity.

"Yeah yeah, I'm a regular fucked up piece of work." Karkat twisted, wrapping his arms around the other boy. "Don't be dumb, John."

The boy relaxed, exhaling in relief once Karkat wrapped his arms around him in acceptance. This really had to be a dream. He found a home, a friend, the possibility of a stable, normal human life... and on top of that, someone who didn't seem bothered with the fact that he wasn't human. A part of him was terrified that at any moment, he'd wake up and he'd still be under the stairs, and Karkat would have just been a passing tenant whose face somehow made its way into his dreams. But the serenity didn't last long. Even though John was able to conserve some energy by dropping his form-altering spell, he was still starving. Another wave of _need_ overcame him, and his muscles began to tense again. He hated to do this, he really did because this embrace was so meaningful, so warm and protective and he wanted it to last for just a little while longer, but the close proximity of another person's body was getting to be too much. He pushed Karkat back, breath becoming heavy again.

"I-I'm sorry," John blurted out, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "I just, I still need to go. I promise I'll be back, but I need to leave for a little while."

"Knock before you come back in."

"O-okay." Awkwardly, John got back to his feet - which were now anything but normal human feet, with two prominent claws instead of toes. A speared tail swung behind him, before nervously sticking close to one of his legs as he took a few steps back. He gave Karkat a melancholy smile, before turning around and swiftly making his way out the door without another word.

 

* * *

 

He didn't look up as the other boy walked out, choosing to sit still for as long as he could.

Was this what his life had become? Had he become so desperate he was willing to let in any kind of weirdness so long as it didn't wind up leaving him in the end?

He scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, shoving himself to his feet. A few short steps brought him to the couch, where he flopped down, throwing his head back over the arm.

"Desperate, pathetic fuck. Why not just crawl in to his lap next and beg him to stay forever?" His hand fell back over the arm, smacking against the casing of an old laptop he'd been given for his birthday that year. A thought occurred to him, and he grabbed at it, swinging it around to his lap. The lid flipped up, the machine turned on, and Karkat had the internet booted as quickly as his little monster could run. "...Now what exactly am I looking for?"

Every click brought Karkat closer to a panic attack. Not knowing what he'd brought in was probably the worst idea he'd ever had in his _life_.

He wasn't getting any closer to finding anything out, just poking at the mouse over Google, Bing, Yahoo and Wikipedia (Ok, no, he'd used tumblr, too. Sometimes it had good results!) but all he'd come up with so far was useless. Unsettling but useless. Mythology was slung hither and yon with the word ' _demon_ ' sprinkled in as crunchy toppings designed to tantalize the thoughts of any hapless wandering reader.

Quick fingers toggled between browser windows. ' _Incubus, Daemon, Shedu, Folk Devil, Imp'_ Nothing had a real picture or verbal description.

Daemon fit best, he thought. A blanket term from ancient Greece meaning something along the lines of 'to divide' with no real negative connotation. Everything else seemed to be full of big terrifying words that made him wish he'd paid attention in school.

"You could be wrong. You could be inviting a monster into your house and letting him out to...to eat people or something. Karkat you're an _idiot_." a jerk of his legs and the lid slapped shut and he flopped the machine to the ground, curling up on his couch. "I'll just... I'll just ask for all the answers and."

He worked his fingers in to his hair and tugged.

"And I won't give in to the teary eyes. Jesus FUCK those teary eyes." He twisted back up to a seated position, fixing his eyes on the door.

Though as soon as he'd made the determination to demand answers, he started to drift off.

 

* * *

 

A soft whisper brushed past Karkat's ear, so soft it could have been written off as the wind, or the hum of the water softener one floor down. But it whispered again, this time just audible enough to form into words."Karkat?" A pause. "Karkat, are you gonna sleep out here?" A soft touch to the sleeping boy's arm, almost too timid to be felt.

An unseemly yelp turned strangled cry sprang out of Karkat's throat. One arm slung out to the side, smacking at the other boy.

"DON'T FUCKING--" His eyes flew open, searching the room. The second his arm drove into something solid, John's voice cried out in pain.

" _OWW_!" The boy whined, taking a step back away from the couch and he rubbed his jaw, eyes fixated on Karkat. He didn't even care that the blow to his face might end up bruising later - no, the worried expression he wore was evident of that. A now very human John stood an arms length away from the older teen, still and silent as if moving would just make things worse. Confusion and hurt clouded his mind, and he wondered for a moment if he really _had_ scared Karkat too much earlier, and that his words of encouragement before he left were a farce. Not like that would be surprising, would it? That would be, by far, a much more normal reaction after all. "K-Karkat?" His voice came out a little more pitiful than he expected.

Karkat panted as he started to settle, fingers digging in to the couch, eyes widening then slowly settling again as he searched the room for the disturbance that had woke him. When his eyes fell on John he let out a long, slow groan.

"You don't do that to a person! Fucking HELL who taught you it was a good idea to shake a person awake? Do we need to sit down and have a long, serious conversation about sleep-time ettiquette or will this work for you? You don't fucking grab a person and talk to them when they're asleep. AND I thought I told you to knock before you came in? We need to work on your manners."

"Buh-" John looked cornered for a moment, but it didn't take long for him to scrunch his face into an indignant pout. "I did knock! Like, three times! You didn't answer, and the door was unlocked, so I walked in, and... I mean, I would have been fine just going to bed but you're _on_ my bed. And I didn't shake you, I barely touched you!"

"You damned well shook me!" he twisted to look at John, jaw gritted tight. "Don't just...do that. Jesus. Scared the crap out of me."

John almost felt like glaring at Karkat for overreacting, but he let it go. He didn't really want to dwell on the fact that he ended up scaring the poor guy, regardless of whether or not it was because Karkat got a freaky eyeful just a short while ago. Or perhaps not a short while - a quick glance at the microwave in the kitchen showed that John was gone for nearly two hours. "Right, okay. Sorry." He uttered with a bit of guilt, as he stared at the ground. "Um, can I go to bed now, then?"

"We're talking in the morning. Primarily about how to wake people up. Then about the..." He gestured to his head. "Because I need to know." He lurched to his feet, yawning sleepily. "In the morning. When I can form proper sentences to state my ire on the subject."

"A-are you mad?" John stuttered, twining his fingers together nervously. To be honest, he also wanted to ask if it really was okay that he stay. It could have just been the heat of the moment, with their stupid teenage emotions and all, when Karkat seemed more worried about John leaving than him being inhuman. He didn't want to think about getting kicked out tomorrow. It probably wasn't going to happen, right? It was painfully obvious how nervous John was now, biting his lip and staring at Karkat like a hurt puppy.

"For being woken up? Hell fucking yes." he growled, rubbing his face with the palm of a hand, before reaching out too ruffle John's hair. "Get sleep, asshole."

The simple, affectionate contact was just what John needed. He relaxed instantly, giving Karkat a small, content smile. "Hehe, alright. See you in the morning, then."

 

* * *

 

He tried. Honestly he tried. He made his way to his door, all the way to his bed. He'd even closed his eyes, but the words on every page wound around his head like dogs chasing their tails. They bit and nipped and reminded him just how little he knew about his roommate. The kid he'd invited in to his home had revealed something strange that needed more explanation than he'd gotten.

Drifting off didn't help, because an image of some terror or another would tug him back away from the brink and his eyes would snap open. The little voices in the back of his head taunted and whispered.

' _Karkat, you should just ask. You should ask and stop being a paranoid dick about this._ ' the rational part of his mind said, quite loudly. An eying of the clock said 'four am'. He'd been there for a whole hour? Only an hour?

However long he was there, he knew lying there would do no good. He had to know. He had to. He rolled out of bed, boxers clinging to him as he stumbled back through his bedroom door. In a matter of three long steps he wound up back at the couch, crawling up beside the other.

"Okay, no. I want explanations before I try to sleep or I won't succeed."

John flinched a bit at the sudden weight on the couch beside him, and he sat himself up, the heel of his palm rubbing at one eye. He was only able to doze himself, worry nagging at his mind as he wondered just what sort of reaction Karkat would have the next day. Karkat's confession made his heart rise up to his throat, and for a moment he started feeling a little clammy. He had _just_ gotten used to the idea of forgetting what happened that night and try to get some sleep, but now all this drama was getting slapped back in his face. Although, it was for the best. John knew that he wouldn't have been able to sleep well with anxiety percolating in his stomach the way it had been.

"O-oh." The younger teen nodded reluctantly. He actually began reaching for his glasses before he decided against it. They kind of made things even harder to see at night, sometimes. They could probably do to turn a lamp on, or something. "I was actually having a hard time sleeping myself." He offered quietly.

"So what the hell are you? What makes..." he gestured to his own head with both hands. "What makes those horns? And why didn't I see those before?"

A hand rose up to brush past his bangs, where his horns usually are. "I can cast a spell on my body." He replied with a small, nervous smile. "Makes me look human. Otherwise I wouldn't have made it this long, hehe."

He considered that explanation, leaning forward to peer at the skin, boldly reaching forward to tap at it with a finger.

"You didn't say what you were." His hand cupped the other's chin, turning his face to study it carefully as though trying to pick out differences and map them. "Inquiring minds must know. Who exactly did I bring in to my house, John? I brought you in on a whim, yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't deserve to know what I got myself into. What were you doing outside tonight? What do the horns and legs and tail mean? The ears and eyes? I tried to look it up but I found jack all. I need to know what allowances to make, what boundaries to set, and if I'm doing anything that can hurt you." He let go, sinking back in to the couch.

"I don't want to accidentally do something to fuck this up."

Karkat rubbed at the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply.

"I guess it doesn't. I was exceedingly curious, but it doesn't really matter I guess, so long as you don't do anything illegal while you live here.... You didn't, did you? I can't have the cops coming here going 'Karkat, you're harboring a fugitive. You're not responsible enough to take care of yourself. You have to do a year in a group home now.'"

"No, I-"John cut himself short, eyes widening slightly. And slowly, a guilty, horrified expression overcame his expression, and he raised his hands up near his chest halfway defensively. No, no no no, _fuck_ he couldn't tell Karkat that. Jesus Christ, why didn't he just tell him what he asked for in the first place? This is what he gets from trying to run from questions. Oh god. He caught Karkat's gaze, and he couldn't let go. His lips parted just barely, unable to say anything else as dread filled his senses.

"No, you what?" He frowned, turning on the couch to give John the most intense gaze he could. Maybe if he looked harder he'd find the answers on the boy's face. "What aren't you telling me?"

John gripped the cushion at either side of his hips, his gaze falling as he bit his lip. He let out a nervous exhale, now unable to look at Karkat. His voice was barely audible when he spoke up next, a cracking whisper as though he was too ashamed to even speak.

"I... I couldn't help it."

"Couldn't. Help. What?" Karkat spoke slowly, leaning forward to peer at him. "Talk to me."

John cringed away from Karkat's advance. The younger boy closed his eyes for a moment to steel himself, his palms getting sweaty. If anything was going to kick him out of his new home, this would probably be it.

"I..." He glanced up once at his roommate, but he just couldn't say it while looking at those eyes. He immediately looked back down at the dated fabric of the couch cushions between his legs. "I ... someone." The middle part of the confession was mumbled too much to be heard.

"You someone what?" A fist hit the couch in frustration. "Damnit, John! I can't help if I don't know what happened! You're sitting there mumbling and looking guilty and for all I know you could have killed someone! You're in my home, under my blessing. Don't you fucking _owe me_ this?"

Karkat was right. Oh god, he was so fucking right, it hit him like someone punched him square in the chest. He couldn't help the volume of his voice, arms shaking as he gripped the fabric in his hands probably just a little too tightly.

"I _raped_ someone!"

The human sank in to his seat, eyes going wide. His hand shoved back into his hair. Holy fuck. That was... Definitely not what he was expecting. Not at all. What did you say to something like that?

"Shit... Why? What? Why?"

"I can't help it." Despite his best efforts, tears began to sting at John's eyes the moment he looked up at Karkat, seeing the sort of expression the older teen was wearing. "It's what I fucking do, okay? I'm a disgusting monster that can't go three days without sneaking into someone's home and doing horrible things to them. I'm an _incubus_ , Karkat."

He didn't know if he should be disappointed or what. All Karkat could do was rub his temples and clench his eyes. He took long consideration of the situation. Letting him continue the way he had been was certainly out of the question, but from what he'd read of incubi earlier in the evening they _needed_ that sort of interaction with other beings. There weren't many other ways to get through it. There really weren't many options, were there?

"What... What if..."

' _What if you leave_ '? John couldn't help but worry about where Karkat was going with this.

"I - I said it before, and I mean it. I wouldn't ever do that to you Karkat, I swear! I'd never, not to you... I just.... I just need to leave every few nights, okay? It's really not that big of a deal, I mean, it's not like I can get caught."

"That. That right there. That's a problem. I can't morally let you do that to another person knowing that you're living under my roof. That makes me feel responsible!" he set his jaw and took a deep, steeling breath. It wasn't an option. He had to do something to help. "I'm not going to send you away. I'm not going to kick you out. But we need to find a better way to deal with... That. If it means that maybe you have to give up that noble sense of ' _Karkat is off-limits_ ' then maybe we give up that sense, huh? That translates to ' _shut the fuck up, John. I'm going to let you._ '. I'd rather it was me than some poor stranger out there." Was this the smart thing to do? Was he going in too deep? Offering too much? Probably. He was, after all, a huge shit-sniffing moron. Karkat had decided a long, long time ago that he was the biggest fool to walk the face of the earth. He got to prove it to himself pretty often, and he was pretty sure this time wasn't going to be an exclusion to this particular fact of his life.

John gave Karkat an absolutely horrified look. Off-limits? Karkat? Oh god, he couldn't possibly be offering that he...

"Wh- _what_?! No. No, no, no, no! No way, I'm not doing that to you! How the fuck do you think I could do that when you've been so nice to me? This is the first home I've ever had! I'm not going to rape you!" For someone that supposedly had to have quite a bit of sex in his lifetime, John's face was probably redder than a blushing virgin. Why was it suddenly so horrible now that it was someone he actually knew? "I'm not going to - oh my god -"

"I'm _offering_. I don't see how that's rape. I'm not saying ' _no, you can't do that'_ , John. I don't personally think it's rape if I offer. If you need it, then let me help."

The blush staining John's face didn't let up in the slightest. In fact, though it seemed impossible at first, it actually got a bit darker. "H-how about we, um... we just wait? I mean, I can go a few days without... you know..." Oh god, he couldn't even look at Karkat again. He pondered for a moment if it would have been easier if Karkat just kicked him out. No, no he would have been depressed for god knows how long. But this - he's never had _sex_ before. He's never fed off of someone willing before. It was embarrassing on a whole entirely new level he didn't even know existed. "I can't believe you're even letting me stay. And now this? There has to be a limit to how selfless someone can be."

"Yeah, no. There's no limit to my selflessness. I've been spelunking down that waste chute for a while. It's full of good feelings for other people and reminders that I'm a huge piece of shit, as well as little whispers of 'you should do more to help other people.'. Isn't there less to be upset about when you know the person you're with is expecting it, and open to it?" he frowned, turning his attention to the discolored popcorn ceiling.

The younger boy fell silent for a moment, contemplating the idea. As much as it gnawed at his conscience to take advantage of someone he really cared about, the thought of no longer having to rape humans was an uplifting feeling. He wallowed in self-hate for so long, cried more often than he should... A trickle of bravery pushed him forward, and he wrapped his arms around Karkat in a sudden embrace, burying his forehead in the teenager's shoulder. "I don't want to do that anymore, Karkat." He took in a shallow breath, fingers clutching the fabric of Karkat's shirt. "I hate forcing people to endure something so horrible. I can't _stand_ it. I've tried starving myself but I just lose my mind and I wake up with blood on my hands and... and...!"

Karkat couldn't help hugging his upset friend, holding him close.

"Then I'll help you. It's not so horrible if you've got consent, right? It can't be that bad." He brushed his fingers through his hair, trying to sooth him.

The contact was readily welcomed, much to John's surprise. He relaxed noticeably, leaning a bit more against Karkat's slightly taller form, and he closed his eyes. Everything was sinking in, and John couldn't help but feel elation amongst the torrents of unease and apprehension and excitement. He had a home. Not just a house, a _home_. And his roommate cared about him enough to share his suffering, he accepted him even though he was inhuman and kind of scary looking, and Karkat was just such a wonderful person John had no idea how to contain the astounding amount of appreciation and adoration he held. He sighed contentedly, and quietly, a softly vibrating rumble emanated from his throat.

"...You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Karkat muttered, slumping back on the couch, holding on to John with a small, affectionate smile. Now that that worry was out of his head, he was able to simply relax.

It seemed like the other boy needed the contact, and what could sleeping on the couch hurt? John did it, a lot. Okay maybe they _both_ needed the contact, after the night they'd shared.

"Get some sleep, assbutt." he yawned, snuggling down into the ugly fabric.

"Hwah?" John replied intelligently, leaning back just enough to look at Karkat's face with confused eyes. "... Are you not going to go to your room?"

"I'm tired, lazy and warm. Good enough excuses to stay out here, if you don't open your trap and vomit words all night." he cracked an eye, peering at John with a critical expression. "Settle down and get some rest."

John smiled softly, and he giggled for a moment before settling back down, snuggling against the older teen's chest with more rumbling in his throat. He may have actually nuzzled Karkat's neck a bit as he settled himself down, not that he'd admit it anytime soon. He wasn't an expert on human sociality, but he had a nagging feeling that perhaps they were both overstepping some personal boundaries here. But he didn't care. What was wrong about two good friends sleeping together for one night, anyway? It was the first time he ever had something warm beside him, another person's heartbeat close to his ear. It was wonderful, knowing someone cared about him, and now he had someone he cared about as well. The other demons from the underworld were stupid. The human idea of friendship was one of the best things he's ever experienced.

"Thanks, Karkat." He whispered one last time before closing his eyes to fall asleep.

"Yeah yeah." the other boy grumbled back, rubbing a hand along John's spine, comforting him as much as he was reminding himself that he was there. A little while later, in the quiet of the dark: "You're welcome, idiot."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The couch in Karkat's apartment could be considered an acceptable place to sleep, but by no means was it luxurious. Despite that, John had the best sleep of his life, even with being squished into the small space by another body. It was comforting to have someone so close who accepted him and cared about him, he swore he must have been smiling in his sleep. Maybe every now and then, John could ask if they could have some more sleepovers like this. It wasn't weird if it was platonic cuddling, right?

He peacefully awoke from his slumber, yawning halfway onto Karkat's chest before snuggling back in. He was awake now, but this was so relaxing maybe he could get away with a few more minutes of just laying here.

The morning was an unwelcome occurrence most mornings. For some reason though, the strange position he woke up in wasn't a bother, and the weight at his side was welcomed and comfortable. Karkat's eyes cracked and he grumbled, sinking further down on the couch.

"Goddamned sunlight..." Nope. Still not welcome, but at least he was comfy.

The sound of Karkat's voice prompted more soft purring from John, who had his cheek half smushed against Karkat's chest, eyes still closed.

He laughed softly, brushing his fingers through John's hair.

"You sure you're not a cat or something?"

The boy smiled at the feel of fingers combing through his hair. "M'not a cat. I'm just happy."

"Yeah, okay." He sighed, yawning. "We have to do that thing called breakfast soon. eggs...cereal...something I don't know.”

"Mmn, I'm full." John didn't want to, but he sat himself up so he didn't weigh Karkat down. Humans needed to eat in the morning, didn't they? "I actually don't need to eat food. It's more of just a luxury. S'why I kept making excuses about eating light."

He blinked at the information, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"...Well shit. More for me." Seemed like a win-win to him.

"I like to eat since it can taste good," John continued as he crawled off the couch, stretching his arms and legs once he got up. "So... don't throw stuff out, I guess? Plus food seems to help when I start getting hungry for um, you know. Kind of helps me go longer in between my actual meals."

"I'll leave enough for you to snack on, then." Karkat loped to the kitchen, pulling open the door. "Do you want to help me cook?"

John followed the older teen excitedly, looking at him expectantly. "Sure! I never actually learned how to, so that would be fun. Can we use the plates with the little crabs on them?"

"Those are pretty much the only plates I have, so I imagine so long as you don't scratch a knife and fork across it, we're good." Karkat's eyes narrowed as he turned toward him. "I will take it out of your hide. I swear to god."

"Hee hee!" John giggled and opened up two cupboards (the first one he got wrong, but he's only been here for a few days so he hasn't gotten the organization down pat yet), and grabbed a plate. Karkat had a few plain plates that were a bit bigger, but the majority of them were these adorable hard plastic plates with cute little crabs wearing bibs on them. John noticed every now and then, there were a few things in his apartment that had uncharacteristically cute things on them; just like the soap dispenser in the bathroom with the little ducks printed on them. For a while John assumed they were all hand-me-downs since he seems to get a lot of charity from the bakery he works at, but it didn't take a genius to see Karkat had a soft side to him. It wouldn't be odd to think that Karkat may have been strolling in a store one day, saw these plates, and knew he just had to have them.

The thought made him grin, even though he knew he could have been way off base.

"What are you gonna make?" He asked as he set the plate down, and grabbed one of the cups that were just beside the plates.

Karkat glanced over his shoulder, quirking a brow at him as he rooted around in the fridge.

"I'll be making eggs, and toast, since that's about all we have aside from stew right now, and I'd like to save stew for dinner."

Ohh, eggs were yummy. John never really got to eat them a whole lot since it wasn't that safe to scrounge those out of the garbage - he learned that the hard way. He learned a _lot_ of foods weren't safe to eat sitting out in a roasting metal can the hard way.

He hummed a bit to himself while he fished the pan out from underneath the small stove top - the one he saw Karkat use the other day. This was the one he used to cook eggs on, right?

"Didn't you say it takes a lot of energy to be human?" Karkat offered over his shoulder, pulling the carton of eggs out, balancing them in a hand, the other searching out the carton of milk. "Isn't that going to make you get hungry faster?"

John paused and set the pan down, blinking at Karkat. "Oh, um..." He pondered for a moment, looking a slight bashful for some reason. "Yeah, a bit. It's not a big deal though. I can pretty much keep the spell on me indefinitely as long as I don't starve myself again."

"That seems dumb as shit." He set them down, puffing hair out of his eyes. "Grab a bowl. Then tell me how many eggs you want."

"Huh? But I don't need to eat." John shook his head, looking a bit perplexed. "I just wanted to learn how you cook. And also it's not dumb, it's what's kept me alive for three years."

"You're in the house. It's safe. You don't need to worry about it. Bowl." Karkat said again, crouching in front of the fridge, peering in search of the next ingredient.

John rolled his eyes, and let out a sigh as he searched for a bowl. Oh right, the cabinet just to the right of the plates. He handed a bowl down to Karkat, silent and he debated to himself silently - it _would_ be a lot easier for him if he didn't have to keep up the concealing spell, not to mention it was.... comfier, in a way. Disguising himself as a human felt kinda like wearing restraining clothes, and being himself was like being naked. Well, being naked minus all the embarrassment and... oh, never mind.

Karkat said it didn't bother him, but would it end up freaking him out? He supposed there was no way to know unless he tried. He didn't really want to admit it, but it sort of made him giddy thinking about being able to just be himself around another person.

"... Can I ditch the shirt and pants or would that be too weird?" John asked after a long bout of contemplative silence.

"Shirt, yes, pants, yes, boxers stay on." he glanced at him, reaching past to grab a bowl, turning to start cracking eggs into the bowl, dropping splashes of milk into them as he started beating them. "I don't want to see your stuff, leave something to the imagination."

John blushed, suddenly feeling self conscious now. Well, Karkat was in his boxers too, so he shouldn't feel embarrassed! Boxer party in the kitchen.

While Karkat was busy preparing the eggs, John walked back into the living room (a whole three steps) and tugged off his shirt so his wings wouldn't be constrained. And soon after that, the pants went. It was just like wearing shorts, really. He took one last glance over towards his roommate, feeling a little better that he was facing the other way.

With an exhale, he reluctantly let go of the spell. He felt his ears elongate into elfish points, and his horns grew to wind closely to his head. His legs changed slightly (the way they bend make it pretty awkward to wear pants), and for a moment John worried that his claws might scuff up parts of the floor that were hard wood. He folded his wings against his back as he walked back into the kitchen, looking quite timid now.

 

"Um," He spoke up quietly, looking around to his backside. "I'm not really sure what to do with my tail..." For now, it was hanging awkwardly down against his right leg, since he could have it lay on top of the boxers, or they'd be pulled down too far.

"How does anyone normally work tails?" Karkat turned on the burner, testing the pan for heat every now and again. "Nature screwed you over. Gave you a rough deal. I don't know, figure it out or something?"

John frowned, giving Karkat a bit of a miffed look.

Some ruffling of fabric, then a short ripping noise came from behind the incubus.

"There. Figured it out." He replied with a deadpan expression, tail now swaying freely about in the convenient little tail hole he made in the back. The speared head of the tail made it pretty easy to rip right through the flimsy fabric.

The rip made Karkat cringe, and he looked over his shoulder, frowning. "We're going to have to get you your own clothes. You're not doing that to any more of my boxers. Ever."

"But think of how easy it would be to take a shit in these." John snickered, trying to get a good look at his rear to admire his handiwork. "I just made your boxers like twenty times cooler now. You should thank me!"

"Let me get this perfectly CRYSTAL clear with you, John: Holes in clothing, fabric, and furniture, are gross. I don't appreciate it. I don't find it cool. We're getting you your own shit to tear apart, got it?"

"Okay okay fine, geeze. I don't need clothes, I promise I won't tear any more of your stuff up. My bad." He laughed, walking over to peer at what Karkat was doing with the eggs. "Why did you add milk to the eggs? You can cook milk?"

"You can cook milk." he nodded. "I don't remember why you add milk to it, but I think it has to do with flavor? Or maybe extending the eggs a little... or binding them. I'm not really sure." he started putting it in the pan, brow tight as he focused on not spilling it.

"Ohhh." John watched intently, hoping he can learn how to make this at least. Didn't seem too hard, and he could actually give Karkat something in return for the free rent if he took care of some of the meals. "The only eggs I've eaten were from a garbage can behind McDonalds. Don't worry, yours are a lot better."

Karkat stared at John for a long moment, lips a firm line of disapproval.

"Why the HELL would you eat out of a McDonalds garbage bin? It's the most disgusting place to eat even when it's fresh! It rots your insides slowly, turning you into a walking corpse year by year."

"What?! No way, McDonalds is awesome!" John huffed, turning down into a small pout. "And I didn't exactly have any money so I couldn't buy it. I don't like stealing."

"Plenty of other places to scrounge. You have horrible tase, John. Absolutely horrible taste. This is me, judging you."

"You sound like someone who's never had a big mac. Next thing you'll tell me is you hate Taco Bell. God help me Karkat if you say you hate Taco Bell."

"I like Taco Bell, I hate their drink selection. They serve Pepsi. It tastes like death... I hate McDonalds by virtue of it being McDonalds."

"BUT TACO BELL HAS BAJA BLAST HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT."

"It has Pepsi. It tastes of death."

John stared at Karkat like he just grew horns. Er, okay that wasn't the best analogy considering John actually had those. "You're dead to me, Karkat. Dead to me. Oh lord, he knoweth not what he says! Have his sins be forgiven and let him bathe in the righteous Baja Blast fountain in heaven once he crosses the pearly gates! God totally has a fountain filled with Baja Blast, Karkat. I got that from a very reliable source."

"Baja blast is mountain dew. It's not pepsi. Pepsi is death. Death in a can, bottle, and ugly little syrup box. It smells sweet and sugarry but it's a lie. Like Portal cake, the sweet sugary smell of Pepsi is a lie. It's a lie, John." He wagged a finger, then stirred the eggs, remembering they were there. "If god has a fountain of anything it's a fountain of Coka-cola."

"But Pepsi owns Mountain Dew. Something that created Baja Blast can't be.... oh wait, you're right, Coke is better than Pepsi." He watched at Karkat stirred the eggs, and his tail swished a bit with interest.

"... Have you ever opened an egg and had like, half a baby chicken in there? That'd be so gross. Can that happen? That might actually be more sad than gross."

"No. Oh my god. Why would you ever ever think something like that? John. Seriously. Why would... OK. So here's how eggs work." he pulled them from the stove, flipping it off. "They shine a light through the egg. If there's a baby in there, they leave it with mom. If it's clear, they put it through for people like us to stuff into our faces." Okay he wasn't sure if that was how it worked, but that's how it worked in cartoons.

"That makes sense." Whether or not Karkat pulled that out from his ass, John obviously bought it.

Oh, that's right! Karkat needed a drink, didn't he? John stepped over to the fridge and grabbed the orange juice, bringing it back triumphantly like a toddler whose mother asked to set the table. He screwed off the cap and poured it into the cup he got earlier, smiling once he was done. "Here you go!"

Karkat looked at the cup, quirking a brow, starting to dole out the eggs, holding a small plate. "Wanna try?"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm fine!" John shook his head, even though those eggs smelled good. He didn't want to spoil himself, after having a meal the other night. "I don't wanna waste your food. I can just wait till, um.... yeah." He almost forgot about the offer Karkat made the night before, and he blushed at the memory. Were they really going to end up doing that in a few days?

He really didn't want to worry over it right now. For now, he pulled out one of the two small chairs at the barside, and motioned to it energetically. "Here, sit! You have your eggs, and I'll join you."

"Right. You can't try a bite. A single bite?" he climbed into the seat, arching a brow, waving a forkful. "I mean, wow. I put a lot of work into this. You don't even want to know what it's supposed to taste like?"

Oh, Karkat knew how to lay the guilt on thick. John rolled his eyes and gave a resigned sigh, before sitting down right beside the older teen, and leaned towards him a bit. "Okay, fine. One bite, okay? That's all I need."

"One bite is all I ask. Say 'ah'" He held the fork level with the other's mouth, a small smirk on his lips

That caught John a bit off guard as he eyed the fork in front of him. Was Karkat trying to tease him? Fine, two can play at that game! John was about to let someone out-prank him.

The raven-haired incubus leaned forward and opened his mouth, the tips of sharp fangs poking out just past his lips, eyes half lidded to a sensual stare straight into Karkat's gaze, and tongue sticking out just a bit too far to be a normal pose for having just a bite of eggs. " _Ah~_ "

 

His cheeks went bright red as he shoved the eggs into the other boy's mouth, dumping them on his tongue.

"There ya go."

John grinned cheerfully, and savored the taste. Oh man, freshly cooked eggs were amazing! He wished he could get used to this, but he really didn't want to be eating all of Karkat's food when he didn't really need it. "Ohmygosh Karkat this is wonderful! You think I could learn how to make this for you?"

He considered that for a second, then nodded as he started in on the eggs himself. "I don't see why I can't teach you. I mean you don't seem that dumb."

"Oh, cool!" John beamed, looking excited for a passing moment before his expression soured. Did Karkat just call him dumb? "Humph. Keep insulting me and I'll slip something totally gross into your food once I'm done cooking it." He grumbled, then proceeded to scoot his chair a bit closer to Karkat. Without any explanation, he wrapped his arms around the older teen's middle, and rested a chin on his shoulder in a slightly awkward sideways embrace. And just sort of mock-glared.

Karkat quirked a brow, fork poised to enter his mouth. His eyes focused on John and he lowered the fork back to the plate.

"You realize you're making it difficult for me to eat?"

"You said I could have breakfast. I'm having breakfast."

"By irritating the shit out of me?" He shoved a bite in his own mouth, making sure to maintain his quirked, ever so unimpressed expression

"I can absorb a bit of your energy through physical contact." John replied in a semi-flat tone, perhaps trying to cover up the fact that he was amused with how easily irritated Karkat got with some things. But he still respected at least a bit of the guy's privacy, and turned his head to watch the TV behind them which tended to stay on all day even if the volume was low.

"Seriously?" he frowned, spearing another bit of egg. "You need to tell me more about this so I can stop being surprised." Not that he was showing it well.

“I don't really know what all to tell you to be honest." John added. "Oh! I'm not like, draining your spirit or anything, just so you don't worry. A lot of demons feed off of this aura stuff all you humans emit. But it's kind of like a fire, I guess? We're just ingesting the smoke that you get rid of anyway. That's kind of a weird and stupid analogy, but you get my point."

"So it's excess energy I don't need anyway?" he tilted his head to peer at John better, another forkful of eggs making it's way to his mouth.

"Yup. I think it's supposed to be your life force, kinda? You slowly burn it away as time goes, but it doesn't really disappear. Just goes back into the earth. Or something eats it!" John grinned. "It's not really imperative that I have any, and I can't live off of it, but it does help in spacing my meals farther apart."

"Whatever helps, I guess." He shrugged, eying the egg crumbs on the plate, then the cup of orange juice that was just out of his reach with his friend hanging on to him. "Do me a favor and pass the juice or you're not going to be able to cling there for very long."

"Oh, sorry." The younger boy chuckled a bit bashfully, and reached over to grab the cup and set it closer to Karkat, now within his reach. "Though I guess since you're done I can stop hanging on you." He let up a bit, thought his hands lingered and stayed on one shoulder.

"So you're just going to hold on to me now?" His brow raised back up and he hummed curiously as he sipped at the juice. This was definitely going to be an interesting day.

“Nah," The incubus shrugged and finally took his hands off of Karkat. He didn't want to annoy him a bunch or anything! Just only a little. "Are you okay with it? I can totally not do that. Don't want to make it like, super awkward or anything. Maybe I could just do it when we're not really busy with anything, so I don't get in your way?" Like cuddling on the couch. Ohh, he hoped Karkat was down with that, because he loved it. It was kind of like Christmas to him, finding his first human friend and he just wanted to be there around him constantly.

Karkat guzzled down the rest of his juice and let out a long suffering sigh.

"Right. so. Boundaries. This is something we clearly have to go over. One: If I'm eating my breakfast, I don't appreciate being hung off while I'm trying to do it. Most days I have to rush out the door immediately after stuffing my face, so having another appendage that doubles as another living being is really fucking inconvenient. Two: I don't mind touching but for fucks' sake a try not to make it so you're just hanging off me when I'm trying to do something. It's frustrating and it might get you punched. these rules are subject to change or be added to at any point in the future, got it?"

John quirked a smile, but nodded nonetheless with a soft wag of his tail. "Got it."

"So long as we're clear." Karkat eyed his friend, sliding from his chair to take his things to the sink.

John hesitated for a bit in his seat as Karkat cleaned up, since there really wasn't anything for him to do. "Need help washing the dishes?" He offered.

"I'll wash if you dry and put away, then we can go do laundry, vacuum, and mop." he started filling the sink, counting the seconds until John whined and stepped away from the chores.

"I can do that!" The younger boy exclaimed with pride, and quickly made his way to Karkat's side by the sink, grabbing the dish towel that hung on the fridge door. He watched Karkat with anticipation, acting a bit like a child half his age, or less, with that sort of enthusiasm.

The taller boy sighed in exasperation and started in on the dishes.

"And then you get to learn how to work a vacuum." Part of him wondered if his friend would react the same way animals did. Hackles raised, growling at the machine. "After all the cleaning is done we'll... I don't know we'll watch a movie or something."

John gave Karkat a wary look, eyes leering just slightly. "... Are you going to make me watch another one of your romcoms? The last one was really boring."

"You just couldn't appreciate the glory of it. 50 first dates is heart wrenching and silly." he handed over the pan, jaw set to the side. "Sure the acting leaves a little to be desired but it's a pretty good movie for the actors."

John went ahead and started drying the pan, doing a much more meticulous job than it really called for. "Could have used more action and explosions and stuff. Movies are supposed to be exciting! Or at least, you know... entertaining."

"You just don't know what entertainment IS. Explosions aren't entertaining. the interaction between two beings, the heart wrenching romance, watching love grow two people from being perfect strangers to knowing so well they could describe each other's everything, the tender looks and embraces, the firey fights, the zinging one-liners and the accidental moments that are either heart breaking or hillarious, because you know they happen in real life, but seeing them happen to someone else... that's entertainment. It's there so you don't feel like you're alone in the universe. Explosions just pull you out of your head and your world and make you stupid." he held out a plate. "The pan is done, John."

John let out a little huff and put the pan down, before snatching the plate from Karkat's hands. "You're just into gooey mushy gross stuff."

"You're into things that make your brain go cockeyed. Why the fuck would you think that anything that shows real person to person connection is gross I have no idea. You could...oh... I don't know... Learn from it maybe?"

"My brain is perfectly level!" Though, Karkat had a point about the whole learning thing. The only thing he really knew about human interaction was that he was supposed to have none of it. He picked up a few things from watching others on the street and from a few movies he was able to sneak into, but that was about it. "They must not teach very well though, since I don't see you with a girlfriend."

Karkat sputtered and dropped the cup he was cleaning into the sink. His cheeks turned bright red and he turned away from John, mumbling something to himself, pretending to busy himself with a supposed dirty spot on the counter.

John snickered loudly, and started putting the plate and pan away. "I think you're supposed to be washing the dishes, not break them."

"I didn't break anything!" he snapped, glaring at his friend. "It's fine. It's plastic."

John just kept grinning. "Okay, okay. You done? Can I dry it yet?"

"Yeah" he fished it back out of the sink, shaking the water off. "Here."

Teasing blue eyes gleamed back, and he grabbed the glass to dry it off.

They then spent the next few hours doing chores; it took Karkat nearly twice as long on what was supposed to be his day off, but by the time they were done, John was confident that he could keep up with at least some of the chores while Karkat went to work. It was the least he could do, really - that is, until he found a job of his own. Which he wasn't even sure he could do, but he'd certainly try.

Dusting was a concept he caught onto easily enough. Karkat had to show John the difference between dish soap and hand soap, as well as Windex and 409. It was baffling to John just why things so similar had to be separated, but he didn't argue it much. He also learned that the toilet needed to be scrubbed on a regular basis, or they'd end up with a toilet that didn't look unlike some of the more run-down gas stations John had the misfortune to use in the past. Make sure the shower was rinsed well, and sweep up any big items on the floor. Oh, the sink needed to be cleaned too, which was so weird to John because you use it to clean things in the first place!

Karkat had to actually show John the kind of stuff that builds up on it, and John soon learned just why Karkat's place was near spotless. He had an eye for detail.

Work top to bottom, that's what Karkat said repeatedly. Clean the floor before dusting, and the dust will just settle back onto the floor and you'll make more work for yourself. The vacuuming was saved for last, and John had a bit of trouble learning how to maneuver the small canister vacuum, and how to get all the little crevices and places people normally forget about. Why would you need to vacuum behind the TV if you never see it anyway? Oh well, it was Karkat's home. And besides, doing chores a few times a week was nothing compared to the kind of hardships he endured before.

A few hours later, Karkat gave the okay that everything was done, and John flopped readily onto the couch and began playing with the remote. What was the button to make movies play again? Something about the DVD player.

"Okay. So I have a few movies that you might actually enjoy. We could watch 'Failure to Launch' or 'I Robot'." He brought both to the couch, flopping down next to the other boy, holding out the cases.

"Hmm..." John studied the covers for a moment before making a decision. Normally he'd go for the movie with 'robot' plastered right in the title, but he felt he was drawn a bit to the other one that looked suspiciously like another one of Karkat's boring romcoms. "Failure to Launch I guess. That one guy looks familiar, have we watched a movie with him before?"

"There are a lot of movies with him in it. There's one where he plays a dog owner that's just...." He snapped his mouth shut and rolled off the couch, walking over to the tv. "At any rate, let's get this show on the road."

"Awesome. I'm so ready for movie time." John grinned, then got comfy right in the middle of the couch. Which conveniently left the only two spaces for Karkat to sit right beside him.

"Taking your half out of the middle?" he sank down into his seat, curling around his knees as the DVD started up.

"Of course." John settled back in once Karkat took his seat, and he didn't waste any time invading the teen's personal space. He leaned on one shoulder, his arms eventually curling around Karkat's right arm, his gaze never leaving the screen. Not soon after the movie started, his tail even began to snake around Karkat's ankle, the spade end resting a bit farther up his leg. His cheek smooshed up against the upper part of the older teen's arm, right on the sleeve of the t-shirt he put on halfway through chores.

Karkat sighed, looking at him with a roll of his eyes. It was pretty clear he wasn't going to be able to focus on the intricacies of the familial and romantic relationships that were trying to develop on screen. Mcconaghy's love life was just going to have to wait.

"You're going to have to explain to me just how different from me you actually are." He poked at a horn, trying hard to look displeased.

"Huh?" The incubus turned his head and brought his own hand up to the horn Karkat prodded. "....What do you mean?"

"Like..." He brushed hair away from the closest horn, peering at it. "Do these grow?"

Oh, that's all. Karkat had a right to be curious, didn't he? Before now, he'd never seen a demon before; and to be honest, there probably weren't many out there that wouldn't mind being inspected.

"Yup, they do. But I think they might have really slowed down once I came of age, 'cause my mom said they were little nubs when I was a baby, hehe. They've been around this size for a few years now." He turned his head a bit, letting Karkat get a better view. As much as he disliked not being human at times, he was a little proud of his horns. A lot of demons had some ugly colors on theirs, or weird looking texture, but his were a smooth ivory. He thought they were pretty nice.

"They were nubs? Damn." he brushed a finger over one, curious. "Can they feel anything or are they just decoration?"

"Umm, I can feel a little bit. I think they're like fingernails?" John leaned into the touch, his tail sliding over the skin on Karkat's leg just a bit before settling back down. "Like it's more 'cause they're connected to my head, not 'cause I feel anything on the surface."

"So if they get raggedy or frayed they can be clipped or something?"

"I dunno, they've never gotten to the point where I needed to do anything to them, really."

"What happened to this?" Karkat glanced at the tail, one hand in John's hair, the other going to touch the spade.

"What do you mean, what happened to it? My tail's perfectly fine, thank you very much." He looked down towards where his tail was still wrapped around Karkat's leg, and he unwound it, navigating the prehensile appendage with skilled precision.

"It's got the holes in it."

"That's just how it is." John explained as the spade brushed against Karkat's palm, then slowly curved downwards and around his thumb. "... Why the sudden interest? I'm not freaking you out, am I?"

"I'm not freaked out. I'm curious." he explained, watching the spade. "We're different species. I want to know more about yours. It's not hard to figure out."

John smiled at that, obviously more at ease with the assurance.

"Hehe, well, I am pretty cool so I can totally understand you wanting to check me out." He replied in a mock-flirting tone, and just to emphasis that fact he sat up a little ways from Karkat and opened his wings to their full length for the first time. They extended out to about the length of his own arms, and they very much resembled something akin to a bat. It could bend a bit like fingers, completely with a clawed thumb at the apex. "Just don't start swooning all over me, now."

"Oh please." He reached out and poked at John's ribs. "You're too skinny to swoon over." His fingers slid past to stroke the membrane of the wing, wondering at the texture. "Can you actually fly with these or are they useless 'for effect' things?"

 

"No, I can fly. But demons don't use wings the same way you're used to." He tensed a bit at the touch, finding the action a bit unexpected. But after a moment he realized it wasn't really unwelcome, and he relaxed. With his horns, he didn't feel much when they're poked or prodded, and he's used to grabbing and touching stuff with his tail, but his wings felt a bit more sensitive. Maybe because they were more closely connected to a larger amount of muscles? Fuck, he didn't know.

"We control ether winds around us, and our wings are more or less a steering wheel against actual wind. So even a demon with super tiny wings can fly, really." He curled his wings a bit, in towards Karkat in a pose that looked like he stopped halfway at attempting to give him a hug with them. Closer up, the end of each "finger" had a small black claw that blended almost seamlessly into the rest of the skin-like texture.

The image of a demon with tiny wings brought a small chuckle to the boy--one that he fought back down.

Karkat's fingers touched one of the claws, peering at it curiously.

"You know, I'm kind of curious... I've heard that some humans know about us. Incubi, I mean. Is that true?" John replied by curling the claw upwards a bit, though he didn't have quite the amount of mobility as he did with his hands.

"There's a page on Wikipedia. Probably a few books. But I don't know if too much of the information has been accurate since Mesopotamia." He leaned back to look up at John. "I went looking. The page says something along the lines of an incubus, er, they said incubi are also called litu? Anyway the page said that one was the father of Gilgamesh, who was a pretty kick ass guy, so there's that... I don't know. I didn't find anything to be scared of once I realized a lot of the demon crap comes from weird religious beliefs that sprang up in the first century C.E."

".... Wow, you lost me." Which was the epitome or irony. John gave him a few slow blinks. "Wish I could tell you if that was all true or not. Never really found a friendly incubus or succubus to talk to, so I don't really know much other than the obvious stuff I learned while growing up."

"What about your mom?" He tugged John down toward the couch, frowning. "Isn't it a parent's job to teach their kid?"

"Oh, hehe..." The boy followed, leaning more against the older teenager. "My mom isn't actually my real mom. She's a vampire, so she wouldn't know a whole lot about incubi. Apparently they really don't like each other."

"That kind of makes sense? Feeding off one another's food supplies."

"Yeah, that's what she said." He nodded. "She's really kind, though. She saved me and treated me like I was her blood kin even though our species are constantly fighting each other. She said even though I was an incubus, she couldn't just leave a baby to die." John found himself blushing a bit, a sort of adoring look washing over his features. "She also doesn't kill humans, a lot of vampires do that when they feed. It's easier just to suck someone dry since you have to alter their memory once you're done, if they're still alive."

"That...sounds like a trial." he shuddered. "I think I'd prefer not to have my memory messed with."

John gulped.

"It's, uh... not really that bad, I don't think. The memories don't go away, they're just made fuzzier, to seem like a bad dream is all."

"I'd still rather retain my memories." He gave John a suspicious look. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Uhh..." The younger boy purposely avoided Karkat's gaze, looking very guilty. Karkat knew he's had to rape people before (god, he even hated just thinking about it), so it's not like he would care too much about this, right? "I've just... had to do it a few times. Or more like, all of them?"

Karkat bit back a noise of disapproval, hooking his arm over the other boy's shoulders, hauling him close.

"You don't have to now."

John looked a bit apprehensive, face a bit flush as he allowed Karkat to pull him so close he was almost on top of the older boy. The memory of Karkat offering himself still made him embarrassed, perhaps even a little uneasy, because he cared about this one particular human so much, but the sentiment was so moving, he couldn't help but smile sheepishly.

"Yeah... you're right." He spoke in a bit of a softer tone, and slid his knees up to mingle with Karkat's legs, his wings reaching out to cover half of the boy's body in a gentle embrace. Leaning forward, he lightly touched their foreheads together, and he gently nuzzled him with a quiet purr.

Karkat gave him an owlish sort of look, reaching up to brush his fingers through John's hair. He wasn't sure how he should feel about the affection. It wasn't bugging him, it was just... was confusing a good word? It sounded right in his head. He didn't remember ever having this much extended contact with anyone in his life.

"Of course I'm right, dumbass."

John giggled softly and rested himself half on the couch, half on top of the older teen's body. He continued to purr, the rumbling sound a bit louder than it was the night before, more akin to a soft growl.

"Thanks, Karkat." He spoke under his breath, lips just barely grazing past Karkat's temple.

"Er...you're welcome...?" Karkat flushed red giving a small smile.

John just smiled and snuggled in, attention finally returning to the movie that was already well past the opening credits. They stayed like that for a while, just in a gentle embrace, while the incubus continued to purr and relish in the closeness between them, practically melting when Karkat started to run his fingers through his hair again, this time tracing the base of his horns curiously and John was actually surprised with how relaxed it made him.

They eventually decided they actually wanted to watch the whole movie, and ended up rewinding it back to the beginning. Failure to Launch was actually the first movie they both agreed on, and John went on a ramble about how awesome the male actor was when Karkat got up to put the DVD back in its case. They continued to chat for the rest of the evening, and John attempted to help Karkat with dinner – even though he was a little disappointed that it was just re-heating the soup from before. Well, at least he learned how to work the stove now, and Karkat offered him some more bread since it was going to go bad in a few days anyway and it wasn't like he could stuff himself with the bagful he brought back from work even if he tried.

 

* * *

 

The next few days, Karkat was at work most of the time. John busied himself with making sure the house was clean, and wandered outside for a few hours to get better acquainted with the area. He felt a lot less wary of people now, and ended up striking up conversation with a pair of newlyweds taking their dog on a walk (that little corgi just had to jump up on his legs apparently, but John didn't mind in the least). He also ran into the local florist who was having a bit of trouble unloading boxes from a delivery truck, and stopped to lend a hand. The tall blond with oddly shaped sunglasses gave him a bundle of sunflowers in return, and it made the boy fluster hopelessly until the florist assured him they were going to wilt soon anyway, and he'd rather see them go to someone who'd enjoy them rather than have them wilt in the store. John had a hard time finding a big enough vase for them (he settled with this huge, heavy mug Karkat had in the back of the cabinet), but by the time Karkat returned that night, he was surprised with a lively little centerpiece on the kitchen counter.

John was getting increasingly affectionate, and enjoyed completely ignoring the concept of personal space – not that Karkat spoke up about it. At least, not yet. John was obviously trying to learn anyway, and he seemed to just be expressing how happy he was to have met the older teen, so it was hard to tell the kid “get off me I need to breathe” when he's looking up at you with those adoring blue eyes.

Two days later, it began to rain again. Thunder rolled in the distance as dark clouds moved in, and John found himself groggy from listening to the soft white noise of the pattering rain, and he resigned to the couch early that evening, even before Karkat was supposed to get off of work.

Karkat made his way into the apartment, shrugging off his coat. His eyes slid over his friend and he frowned.

"Down before dinner time? That's weird." groceries were on his hip, his arm wrapped around the bags. "The rain wear you out or something?"

"Hnn?" The younger boy shuffled under a blanket before poking his head up and rubbing one eye. Oh, he didn't realize he dozed off; he only planned on resting for a minute before looking for a TV show to watch. "Yeah, rain always makes me sleepy." He yawned.

"I got groceries. You wanna help me put it away or are you going to lay there like a lump until I come sit on your feet?" he started toward the kitchen, the bags held comfortably in his arms.

"Mmmh." The boy groaned wearily in reply, but got to his feet without uttering a response. His complexion looked a little pale as he walked up to the kitchen counter, like he wasn't feeling too well. He began shuffling through one of the plastic bags, and grabbed a few little packets of instant ramen. "... Where do these go?"

"The long cabinet by the entrance to the kitchen. Are you okay, John? You're acting more than tired and you look like shit." he grabbed a bag of frozen chicken out of the bag, studying John.

"Um, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well last night, I guess." The boy visibly perked up, showing a little more energy with his smile - but it was forced. He shuffled over to the cabinet and put the instant ramen away, then grabbed the handful of apples from another bag and proceeded to put it in the fruit bin in the fridge.

"Don't lie to me, John. You're not good at it. By not good at it I mean you telegraph everything. It's as dumb as it is useful." he passed oranges over as well, shoving hair out of his eyes.

"Mmph, fine." He grumbled, and took the orange without protest. "I'm not feeling so hot. But it's just the weather. Don't worry about it."

"You're pale, you look like you've been run over by a car, without bruises or cuts. Face it. You look like shit. This isn't just the weather, so don't bullshit me."

God damn it. It sounded like Karkat already knew, and yet he still twisted the knife around in John's gut to try and get him to admit it himself. He really hated himself right now.

"... I can go another few days." He replied quietly, voice a little raspy.

"John. You know that thing I just told you not to do? You're doing that. It's irritating as fuck, and I'm telling you now, I will hold you down and subject you to a marathon of romcoms, and not a single one of them will have McConoughy." he shoved a Styrofoam palette of stew beef into the fridge.

He didn't have in it him to fight back with witty retorts of his own. His tail drooped as he closed the fridge door, and he stood there motionless for a moment, staring at the handle still in his hand. He would probably be able to make it another day - no, he'd make it two. But he'd end up like before, with barely a grasp on reality and completely lose his mind if he waited just a minute too long.

All John could do was turn to his side, gaze hesitantly rising to meet Karkat's in guilt. He didn't really know what to say.

"For god's sake, John. You'll wind up curled up against a wall again, shaking like a leaf, fucked up and ready to rip out your own hair. I can't understand why you just don't ASK for what you need. It's not like it's something that'll kill me. You know I've had a sum total of maybe three friends in my life, and I've only trusted one of you morons enough to do something like that. Here's a clue in, if I didn't think I was capable of helping you survive, I wouldn't have offered in the first place. You act like I'm some kind of delicate flower or a Tiffany lamp that's going to break if you blink at me wrong. Here's a really big massive clue in for you. I'm not going to shatter. I'm not going to die. I'm not going to kick you out if you accidentally hurt or scare me. Stop acting like I will or I'll make extensive use of Pirate's bay and pin you down for the longest, most extensive romcom marathon, including movies in foreign languages, and the possibility of musical numbers." It was a threat he was willing to follow through with.

Karkat reached out to set a hand on John's shoulder, narrowing his eyes, hoping the other boy understood just how serious he was.

John visibly went rigid, blinking at the taller boy in front of him that practically glared daggers straight into his eyes. Fuck, he messed up again, didn't he? It's not like he really thought Karkat was delicate or anything, far from it. He just... he wasn't sure what he was so apprehensive about. Maybe a bit of it was he worried about scaring or hurting Karkat, but it wasn't like he didn't think Karkat could take hold of the situation and be able to break John's nose if need be. Perhaps it was also some embarrassment? He did tend to act a bit differently when he fed, and now, he didn't have the reassurance that no matter what happened, he could just alter someone's memory to make them think it was a nightmare. This actually mattered, or it seemed like it.

"Sorry," He offered a melancholy grin, this time more sincere. "You're just... someone I actually care about for once, you know? It's hard to imagine doing this thing that's made others suffer... ugh, I'm being an idiot." He brought a hand up to his face, trying to hide the fact that his cheeks were burning.

He took in a breath, and looked back up, giving Karkat a more determined look. More confident.

"Can we.... tonight?" He paused, as if admitting it alone made him cringe. "I'm actually really hungry."

"If you can wait until after I eat, then yeah. Next time don't wait so long. You are being an idiot. You said yourself you've altered the memories so people don't remember, so they're not even aware they've suffered. You have to remember, I want to help. If you don't tell me you need help, I can't help you." he sighed, pulling a bag of mixed vegetables, then a few trays of tv-dinners from the bag. One of the dinners was dumped on the counter, the other things were shoved into the fridge. The remaining contents of the bag were dumped into a bin at the bottom of the fridge, and the door was bumped closed as he quickly folded the bag and slid it into a drawer under the microwave.

"Hehe, of course that's fine." He replied sheepishly, watching as Karkat prepared his dinner. "And... I promise I won't wait so long anymore. I can really last a bit longer than this usually, I just... kind of rushed last time. I was worried about having left you here."

"Moron."

John huffed quietly in reply. It felt like with each insult, each rant, each word that spilled out of the boy's mouth that was just so entirely _Karkat_ , he became more at ease. If Karkat wasn't worrying about it, or losing sleep over it, then why should he? It felt like their reactions were entirely reversed. How weird was that?

"Hey, I'm being nice enough to let you eat first. Don't make me change my mind." The effort to sound normal was there, though his voice still sounded rather tired. At least he found it in him to stop giving Karkat a kicked puppy look every few seconds.

Karkat rolled his eyes and dragged the heated meal over to the counter, quickly grabbing a cup of juice before crawling into his seat.

"The nature of our relationship means we have to establish an order as to who eats first. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the person who has to work in the morning and will fall asleep and get ill if he doesn't get firsts is probably going to be the best bet, seeing as if he's sick he can't afford to buy more food to keep himself healthy." He quirked a brow, daring his friend to question his logic.

"Yeah, yeah." John sighed dramatically, and gave Karkat a light shove before making his way back to the couch. He plopped down, and turned the volume up a few notched. It was obvious he probably would have snapped back a bit more, but he just didn't have the energy. "You're just lucky Storage Wars is on."

"Storage Wars?" He wondered over his friends choice in television as he shoveled ground beef barely passing as swiss steak into his mouth, accompanied by crispy, over-salted potatoes and mushed peas.

"Dude, it's awesome. Don't deny it." John grinned and grabbed the blanket he was covered up with just a little while ago, draping it over himself as he watched two guys yell at each other on the screen. "They find crazy shit in storage lockers. It's kind of amazing to think some people have so much stuff they literally don't know what to do with it, so they just shove it in a locker somewhere. Why would you even do that?"

"My mom put my grandma's furniture in a locker when she shoved her in a home. 'Course my mom couldn't figure out which end was her ass and which one was her head, so that might be part of the reason she did everything she did while I was growing up." he downed another piece, humming thoughtfully.

"Oh." Was all John could reply with. Why couldn't his grandmother just take her furniture with her into her new home? That's weird, too. Maybe she had new furniture in her new house or something. "Maybe all this stuff on the show is stuff from grandparents, too."

"Probably not. Some people just have too much stuff." He scraped the vegetable and potato spaces clean, shrugging.

"I can't even wrap my mind around that." A chuckle. "The only thing I own is a well-loved t-shirt." Which he hasn't even been wearing, even though he was able to get it mostly clean. With his wings out, t-shirts were just plain constraining and got in the way.

"Sometimes you get a house and people give you stuff. Or you think you have a lot of space and you feel like your space is empty, so you fill it with everything you can find. Then it gets crowded and all your things go into storage, and you fill it again." he guzzled his juice, then shoved his tray into the trash and the cup and silverware into the sink.

"I guess it would be cool to have a bunch of stuff. And a big house! I'd have... a game room, and a big TV room, and a bunch of yummy food in the kitchen. Oh, I'd let you live in the attic if you want, Karkat!"

"Oh. I get it. I help keep you fed and I don't even get a real room. Nice, John."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! You could totally have a room. I'd even make sure you had a maid or something, so you wouldn't have to clean so much. That way we can spend more time watching awesome movies and stuff." The demon snickered.

"Only the good ones. You have horrible taste." He washed the fork, dried it off, then tossed it in the sink, walking into the living room to flop down next to his friend. "Your taste in bad TV shows actually surpasses your taste in movies on a level of one to exceedingly shitty. On a scale of one to ten, your taste in movies is eleven, and TV runs about fifteen."

"What, no way! I'm obviously the one that likes the good stuff." John fake-pouted. "Plus, I've noticed you have a bunch of cartoons in your collection. Aren't those for kids or something?"

"When you claim cartoons are for kids, remember this:" He recited. "Animated movies are made by adults who slip in curse words, sexual references, and spend more hours a day working than the average full time employee."

"Yikes, okay." John replied with a sigh, losing interest in conversation quickly. He couldn't help it; he was tired, a little anxious, and pretty hungry. He peered over at Karkat expectantly, debating if he should ask if it was okay to... oh god, he couldn't even think of the word in his own mind. Did he even really need to ask, anyway? Karkat said it was okay, and he was done eating.

John took a silent little breath.

And deciding against speaking up again, he simply leaned over and placed one hand on Karkat's leg. And ever so gently, he nuzzled affectionately against the older boy's neck, lips ghosting over the tan skin as a purr began to rumble in his throat.

The lips on his skin surprised him, making him gasp a little 'oh' and tense, just for a moment. Reminding himself that this was John and he was safe, even if it was his first time, was easy enough. Karkat tilted his head to the side, letting the other boy have access to do what he wanted, color rushing to his cheeks.

The incubus exhaled a soft, warm breath as he ran his hand farther up Karkat's leg, pausing to rest on his hip. The blanket that he had draped over his shoulders slid off and onto the ground with barely a sound. This was different - certainly never anything he'd done before. He actually worried about going too fast now, instead of pushing himself to get it over with as quickly as possible. It wasn't like he thought Karkat couldn't handle it, but he certainly wanted to give him enough respect to go at a pace he was comfortable with.

He tested the waters by letting his lips slip open just enough to graze his tongue over the juncture at Karkat's neck and shoulder, the purr escalating to more of a growl when he opened his mouth. The tips of his fangs barely tapped against the skin, but he showed no intent on actually biting down.

The new sensations were making him shudder, and he lifted a shivering hand to touch John's fingers, letting out a strangled groan. These feelings were more intense than he thought they'd be.

 

"W...wow... okay." He tried to link his fingers with his friend's to pull him closer. That seemed like something that should happen. Definitely.

John didn't hesitate in reciprocating the gesture, his fingers squeezing once in a reassuring manner, mindful of his claws.

"... You okay with this?" He whispered just beside the boy's ear, just as he snaked a hand under the hem of Karkat's shirt, the pads of his fingers brushing over the bare skin there. "You can always tell me to stop."

"I'm more than okay with this. Don't be dumb." he sighed, the muscles jumping under the unfamiliar touch. "Definitely more than okay."

"You want to, uh.... take your shirt off?" He backed away just a bit, only enough to give him some room to do so. "And anything else that might get in the way?"

Oh, yeah. People did that, didn't they? He leaned forward to tug his shirt off, then wriggle out of the rest of his clothes.

"Then your boxers have to come off too. Fair's fair."

"O-oh. Um." John bit his lip, nervously getting to his feet - but he stopped. He fiddled with his hands a bit, like he was really trying to reach for the elastic band sitting on his waist, but his arms were having none of it. "I've, uh.... never actually gotten naked in front of someone before."

"I only got naked with the intention of changing in to other clothes, so we're in the same boat on that front." he admitted, shifting in his seat awkwardly.

John blinked. It took entirely too long for John to actually get the hint, and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, actually looking somewhat horrified. "Y-you mean, you haven't... done this before?"

"I never found reason to, or anyone who wanted to before." He shrugged, trying to make it sound like it was no big deal.

"No." John felt the world slip from his mouth like bile.

"No - no, no, no - I had no idea you were a virgin! There's no way this is happening, I'm not going to take your virginity! Oh my god. Fuck, Karkat! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Gee. I didn't think it mattered. A lot of people our age are virgins, even if they claim they're not." he heaved an exasperated sigh. "You're being a complete moron, and worse you're making a decision for me. Really don't appreciate it, John." he all but growled, tilting his head to the side, looking at his friend under his eyebrows in the most judging way he could manage.

"But- your first time should be something... I dunno, special? With someone you're actually in love with, and not just for charity?"

"I get to decide what 'special' means to me. Not you, not anyone else. As far as I'm concerned 'special' means 'someone I don't want to lose', which makes this just as selfish as it is 'charitable'. Got that?" he scowled, hooking a hand behind John's neck to bring him closer, resting his head against his friend's. "You're a part of my life now. This place would be shit without you."

If he wasn't already starving, John would probably put forth a little more of an argument, but in the end, Karkat was right, wasn't he? It didn't really matter if he was a virgin - this was still something he decided to do on his own. And all John did was constantly disrespect him by ignoring those wishes. Damn it...

His lashes fell slightly as he gazed at the older boy, his eyes slowly beginning to change as a thin line of aqua began to circle his pupils. He didn't even think to reply. He kept their faces close, close enough that they probably would have kissed by now but this wasn't one of Karkat's shitty romance flicks, and he reached down to quickly unbutton Karkat's pants.

"I can't really imagine being apart from you now, either." He quirked a small smile.

"Then we're agreed. You're not going anywhere, and we're getting a new couch as soon as I have money." The thing was probably too narrow for two people to do something like this without falling off if they were to lay down. That would definitely count as a mood killer.

John chuckled softly, before running his hands down Karkat's bare sides, and slid his fingers under his jeans.

"Should we... move into your room, maybe? It would probably be a bit easier."

"Probably a good idea." he nodded, biting his cheek to try to clamp down a groan. A little bit of attention and his skin was hypersensitive. Part of him wondered if that was the same for John, but that part of him was too nervous at the moment to try it.

"Yeah." John nodded back in reply, and lingered his hands a bit on Karkat's hips before letting go. The walk to the bedroom was a little awkward for the both of them, and John couldn't help but averting his gaze while they walked in. The floors creaked a bit under their steps, and they seemed ten times louder than normal right now, even though it was still raining outside. John closed the door behind him, though he's not sure why he did. Not like there was anyone else in the tiny apartment that would walk in on them.

"Okay." He breathed, and steeled himself before sliding his boxers down to fall at his clawed feet. He stepped out of them, and looked over at Karkat to do the same.

Karkat stared at John's shoulders as he dropped his pants and boxers. He took a deep, steadying breath and let his eyes travel over John's body, taking in what he could in the dim light offered by the single lamp by his bed. He reached out to take John's hand, pulling him close.

"Not gonna lie... I'm nervous..." He didn't want to admit that he wasn't even sure how sex actually worked.

John couldn't help but let his eyes wander a little himself, glancing twice over Karkat's body in front of him - that is, before the distance was closed between them and they couldn't see much of each other anymore. John never really personally found any one person more attractive than the next - especially men - but he had to admit, Karkat wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. But he didn't dwell on the thought long, cause that was a little weird to think about a friend, wasn't it?

"It's okay." John purred, bringing his free hand up to brush away Karkat's bangs fondly. The inhuman glow of his eyes were even more prominent in the bedroom, with the sparse light. "I'll take the lead. You just stop me if you start feeling uncomfortable, alright?"

"Right." He watched John's expression, shifting foot to foot. "Just tell me what to do."

He'd never experienced any kind of attraction, or any kind of need to be this close to anyone before in his life, and here he was standing naked in front of someone who might just be his closest friend, awkward and maybe a little excited.

"Sitting down might help, for starters." John offered quietly, placing a careful hand on Karkat's shoulder as he lead him back just a few steps. "Lay back."

"Okay..." That was actually a pretty good idea. Karkat let himself be guided, slumping back onto his elbows on the gray and red quilt. His hand raised and his fingers traced over the other boy's arm before falling away to the bed again.

John didn't waste any time crawling on top of Karkat, the spring mattress creaking a bit under his weight. A clawed hand carefully trailed from the top of Karkat's chest, down to his abdomen, where the pads of his fingers glided over to the side, tracing his hips. His tail curled under the older teen's leg, and the spade tip moved softly against his skin as well.

He gave Karkat a small, reassuring smile before he leaned down and brushed his lips over the boy's jaw. Soon after, he traced his warm tongue over the shell of Karkat's ear, and gave it a gentle nip with his fangs.

The little motions made him gasp and whimper, his head turning to the side. He let himself lie back, his hands lifting to touch the other boy's sides, brushing along them curiously.

John sighed audibly and his wings shuttered a bit in response, not exactly used to getting touched himself. It wasn't like he ever had a consensual partner up until this point. He drew his hands back up towards the older boy's chest, thumbs stroking over bare nipples. They barely began to do much of anything, and John was already starting to feel less fatigued. He wouldn't be full unless they completed, but Karkat was already experiencing some intense pleasure.

It wasn't like he was one to talk. The mere sound of Karkat's voice was sending heat straight down to his groin, and he would have felt ashamed about that if he was in his right mind. God, he had no idea Karkat could sound like that. Those articulate lips and sharp tongue were reduced to whimpers and gasps with such simple touches.

"Karkat," He breathed while looking down at the human boy with a slightly flushed complexion. Since it was Karkat's first time, he wanted to drag it out just a bit, to make it feel like this wasn't just to help feed a demon, that even if they were just friends, this intimacy actually meant something. But he was getting more and more impatient as the seconds ticked by, and Karkat's voice wasn't helping. One hand trailed back down south, fingers brushing just a little too close to a particular sensitive organ. "I'm going to touch you, okay?"

"O-okay." he was definitely aroused to the point where more than one word was more than his usually witty mind could handle. John's hands trailing over his body weren’t helping him try to form thought,

The incubus moved his body down just a little bit, and leaned in to kiss and lick along one side of Karkat's collarbone - and carefully, he wrapped his fingers around the older teen's half erect penis, giving it a light tug as he rolled the pad of his thumb over the very tip, smearing the small amount of precum over the head.

The human's hips jerked up into john's hand at the contact, a loud whimper groan escaping his throat. The wet warmth on his skin was enough to drive him crazy, and he found one hand seeking out John's hip, the other holding on to the incubus' shoulder.

Oh god, those sounds - Karkat's pleasure rippled through the air and John drank it in, allowing himself to share a bit of the sensation for the first time in his life. And Karkat's groans made it better, so much better. There really wasn't much he could do without some sort of lubricant at this point, so he hesitated. It wasn't like he couldn't solve that problem, but since he was actually enjoying this himself, he wondered if he could take this a step further. He did tell Karkat he could make him stop if he crossed a line.

John let his knees slide across the comforter, until he set foot back onto the ground just in front of the bed, his one hand still gripping Karkat's erection. This time, without warning, he opened his mouth with a sigh of warm breath, and ran his wet tongue up the underside of of the human's cock.

 

A moan that was almost a yelp of surprise leaped out of him, hips trying to buck, held steady by the firm, almost painful grip.

"L-loosen. Tight. John. Dumb."

Fuck, was he being too rough? Worry nagged at the back of his mind to slow down, be more gentle, 'take your time because this is something the both of you deserve to enjoy'. But the last moan and surge of pleasure emanating from Karkat shot right down to his own hardening member, and John couldn't help but slip his lips open, tongue still pressed to the underside of Karkat's erection, and he let out a mixture of a moan and deep, guttural growl. He did his best to make his touches more light - the grip on both Karkat's hip and slowly weeping cock relaxing considerably.

With that, the elder boy let out a relieved moan, rolling his hips into John's hold. His fingers kneaded at the quilt as the other boy's mouth moved on him and the sounds vibrated through him. Why hadn't he done this sooner?

Probably because it hadn't occurred to him that this would be as amazing as it was at this moment.

One hand lifted to touch John's hair, fingernails dragging along his scalp, whimpers and groans of encouragement growing from his chest. As far as firsts went, this was the first anything he could remember actually enjoying. Well, the first anything he would remember enjoying.

John instinctively growled louder once he felt claws raking across his scalp, and his fangs grazed dangerously over Karkat's erection - and he had to take a moment to calm down and remember they weren't claws, they were just blunt human nails. It was so weird to be doing this, to be under the foggy spell of feeding, and be touched. Every now and then he had to keep telling himself that Karkat didn't need to be pinned down, he didn't need to be frightened, and that whatever contact initiated by the human was not an act of aggression.

The incubus immediately let out a soft purr in an apology for growling so fiercely a moment ago, and peppered a few soft kisses on Karkat's inner thigh to assure him he wasn't about to bite his sensitive organ in half. Just enough saliva had accumulated on the human boy's penis to allow John to pump it a few times --before suddenly encasing the head with his lips and sucking lightly.

Karkat felt a spike of nervousness at the growl, and it grew when he felt the fangs--but he was soon pacified, groaning softly. Part of him wasn't sure he was going to last this out. Every touch was beginning to drive him insane.

Sharp claws raked lightly down Karkat's leg as John slowly began to envelop the older teen's cock, only stopping before it would hit his gag reflex. His free hand stroked the base of Karkat's erection as he pulled back slowly, tongue swirling around the tip and teasing the small slit there. After a few more moments of agonizingly slow stroking, John suddenly sped up and began to pump the engorged member with more vigor, a deep growl from within the incubus' throat sending vibrations right through the sensitive organ.

That was his undoing. His fingers gripped the hair they were in and his back arched, free hand pulling at the quilt. His first orgasm at the hands of another person was, perhaps, the most intense thing he'd ever experienced. Breath left his body in a cry that rang through the room as sparking pleasure ran through him. It reduced him to panting, mewling shudders in it's aftermath.

John's eyes shone to a bright glow the moment Karkat reached his peak, and John uttered a guttural moan between closed lips ,in harmony with the older teen's voice. The incubus refused to pull away even as warm seed coated his tongue - in fact, it only made him stroke faster with his hand around the base, lips sucking and swallowing every drop Karkat could possibly give.

As the human's voice died down to mere whimpers and heavy breath, the erection in John's mouth began to soften, and only then did he release the spent member from his grip, a thin trail of saliva briefly connecting the head to his bottom lip. The incubus' eyes began to dim, though they still glowed faintly in the dark room, not unlike a cat's. A quick kiss landed on Karkat's navel before he pulled himself up, one knee sliding onto the bed just beside his friend.

"Um..." His voice was hesitant. "How are you feeling?"

Karkat nodded, cracking his eyes to look up at John.

"Pretty damned good... Worry too much."

John breathed a sigh of relief, before settling himself down on the comforter just beside Karkat. He purred softly, lips brushing the boy's neck as he nuzzled into his shoulder. "Thank you, Karkat." He spoke quietly, before timidly wrapping an arm around his friend's bare chest in a slightly awkward side-embrace. A few warm droplets littered the older teen's collarbone John's shoulder quivering just barely enough to be felt.

The older boy rolled to his side, arms snaking around John, smiling a little.

"Don't wait so long next time, idiot." It was hard to be mad, or scathing, to rant or lecture, when he was just...

This was what content must have felt like, because he couldn't muster any kind of anger, real or faked. All he wanted to do was just lie there and enjoy the moment. Was there a moment? He thought there was.

John didn't even try to hide the tears in his eyes. He leaned forward, giving the human boy a heartfelt, warm kiss on his cheek before burying his face into a tan shoulder again.

"I've never..." He took in a slow, shallow breath in an attempt to keep himself from getting too emotional. Fuck. He couldn't even begin to explain what this felt like for him. "I've never felt full before without being nauseated from guilt. Without wanting to kill myself."

"I'm glad you didn't, you know... I'm glad you're here with me." He tilted his head to look at John, hugging him tighter. Hearing his generally happy friend sound so twisted up with emotion was strange and difficult. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." John sniffed in reply, giving Karkat a sincere, content smile. "More than fine. I kind of... don't think I've ever been so happy. God, that's so cliche, isn't it?"

"You're an idiot." he prodded at the other boy's cheek, letting himself smile at his friend. "Cliche doesn't necessarily mean 'bad'."

The incubus giggled sheepishly, cheeks tinted a light red.

"I'm just.... so happy. I'm so happy I met you, I'm so happy we're friends and I have a home and you care about me enough to do something like this, and I have someone to care about too, and..." He rubbed at his eyes, getting embarrassed. "I just need to shut up, I sound so stupid right now. God I sound like a sappy after-school special and I'm probably making this super awkward." More awkward than the afterglow of sex between two friend, anyway. If that's possible.

Karkat laughed, rolling onto his back.

"You're such an idiot. It's awkward, but not because you're babbling like a moron. But it's less awkward than I thought it would be. I'm happy we're friends, too. I'm not happy you were willing to make yourself sick rather than ask one little thing of me. Relax."

"Okay, okay. Um... at the risk of making this like, ten times more awkward," John rolled his eyes and leaned up, ready to slide his feet off the bed. But he paused, looking back at Karkat as he gripped the soft comforter under his palms. He felt his cheeks heat up even though he truly only had the most platonic intentions. ".... Would you be okay with me staying here with you tonight? You can totally say no. I mean, we kind of just... and it's a little weird 'cause we're friends and all, but I just really like being next to you in a totally not creepy way oh god I'm doing it again." Shut up shut up shut up.

"John." Karkat sighed, looking up at the other boy in exasperation. "Get in bed." he gave the comforter a lethargic slap, and remembered that he was going to have to wash it in the morning or it would smell weird. Body smells were weird smells that he just couldn't stand, made worse by the heat and washed away by water.

John positively beamed, and wasted no time pulling the corner down on one end, crawling halfway over Karkat's body to get to the top of the bed.

"Oof, then you get in too!" He kicked at Karkat's legs with his feet from under the covers. "Or roll down a bit more and sleep at the foot like a dog or something. Pfhaha, that's funny 'cause your name has "cat" in it. Hehe!"

"You would be mistaken sir. My name has 'Karl' and 'Kathrine' in it. It only looks like Karkat on paper, and sounds like that when you say it." He sighed, rolling onto his belly, crawling to the head of the bed. With clumsy, sleepy limbs, he managed to pull back enough blanket to roll under them, sighing contentedly.

"Mf, whatever." John shrugged the topic off entirely, and snuggled closer to Karkat - though to be fair, he wasn't laying halfway on top of him like he had on the couch before, since, well... neither of them really bothered to put their clothes on. There was something oddly comforting though, to have a relationship like this where they were both okay with it. It didn't have to be sexual. It didn't have to mean they had to be "together" or anything. It was just... nice. "Goodnight, Karkat." He smiled, one hand searching under the covers for a moment, before intertwining his fingers in Karkat's.

Karkat felt himself smile as his eyes slid shut. "G'night, John." 'this is actually incredibly comfortable.' he thought to himself while he settled in against his friend. If this was how it was going to be every time, he could get used to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, this is Zilleniose! I have basically had an arm injury since the last chapter was posted, and I've been putting off this one thinking I will get better in a decent amount of time to illustrate it. Finally found a doctor who found out what was wrong though, and it could still be a handful of months before I'm all better, so here's the next chapter, without illustrations for now.
> 
> Hopefully I will be able to put illustrations in later!

Morning came, cracking through the curtains, disturbing Karkat from his peaceful sleep. He snuggled into the blankets and... arms. Oh. He turned his head and blinked at his companion. John was hanging on to him, and Karkat wasn't entirely sure he was opposed to it. The night before had been an amazing experience. This was just a normal after effect, right?

He couldn't fight the smile that was growing on his lips as the memory played through his head again. He twisted in John's hold, peering at him. Moments stood out, and blood rushed to his cheeks, and other places, making him curl up to cover for it. Such an awkward position, for what happened the night before.

He couldn't even exactly pinpoint what he was feeling. Was he happy? Nervous, shy, yes. those were right, and he wasn't upset. He certainly didn't mind...this.

Really all he could do was lay there watching John, waiting for him to wake up.

Thankfully, it didn't take long after Karkat shifted his position under the covers. The incubus stirred just barely, closed eyes wincing a bit as a soft purr rumbled in his throat and died within a few seconds, a content smile gracing his lips. His tail moved under the covers like a rogue snake until it brushed against Karkat's ankle, and it wrapped around the older teen's leg (it had a habit of doing that a lot, didn't it?), just as John finally rolled more onto his back, releasing Karkat from the embrace, and he yawned. Tired blue eyes blinked open slowly, and brows furrowed together in mild confusion. Was he in a bed? That was weird.

Oh, right. John turned his head to look at Karkat, blushing a bit in embarrassment once he noticed his friend was already awake. Crap, he hoped he wasn't overstaying his welcome in this room. 

"...Morning." He smiled, nonetheless. "Did I wake you?"

"Your name doesn't translate in any way to 'Sun' 'star' 'gigantic ball of gas light-years away' or anything of the sort, so no, you didn't wake me." he teased, pulling a pillow around to his chest. Okay so he was a little shy about his body in the morning. That wasn't entirely unusual.

"Hehe, not that I know of." John chuckled, and sat up, the comforter just barely covering his thighs. Compared to Karkat, John seemed to be either entirely comfortable with being naked, or entirely oblivious - which wouldn't be too much of an assumption. He stretched his arms and his wings followed suit, the dark appendages lightly tapping against the wall at their heads. "Oh man, I haven't slept in a bed in ages! It's so comfy."

"You'll have to do this more often then..." he briefly entertained the idea of inviting the incubus to stay every time he fed him, and rolled onto his side.

"Really?" John sounded positively elated at the prospect. So happy in fact, that he had no reservations with leaning in close to pull Karkat into a hug even though they were still completely naked under the covers. Their cheeks brushed as he nuzzled the side of Karkat's head, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks, Karkat! It was so nice being with you, you know? Hehe, like a slumber party!"

Karkat let out a short snort of surprise, turning a bright shade of red.

"Slumber party. Your definition of the word is a little confused, John."

"Oh, fine." John rolled his eyes and let go of the older teen, though he stayed a little too close in his personal bubble. "Next time we'll build a pillow fort, tell scary stories and play truth or dare."

"Pillow forts, truth or dare, scary stories... and sex. Yes. Your definition of sleep over is skewed." he laughed, rolling his eyes

"Oh you're right, I forgot about makeovers. Want me to do your nails?" He snickered, though the grin fell just a little bit as he glanced towards the scattered clothes on the floor on the other side of the bed. This is embarrassing. He didn't really want to stay in Karkat's bed all day, but.... he didn't want to get out because he was naked. Was it a good idea to just keep up the witty banter until Karkat left first? 

"Oh. My god. Fucking... Christ. John where are you getting your information? Where did you learn that guys did makeovers? I'm not letting you put make up on me, or paint my nails in any form. Ever. You hear me? My nails will remain clear of paint." he rolled onto his back, slinging his arms over his chest to cross them. "Honestly we have to find information on how guys have these things or you're going to think we do 'lesbian things' forever. Or I could introduce you to the internet and say 'happy browsing find this shit yourself'. Sweet shit how do I wind up in these situations. No. You know what? We're going to talk about something else now."

John couldn't help it. The noise started out at a tiny whining noise, before it whistled past his lips and he busted out laughing. Arms curled around over his stomach. "Jesus CHRIST Karkat I was joking! Pfffffhaha oh my god it's way too early in the morning for this, I can't - I caheeeeehee!" He fell forward, trying to contain his laughter. "No no no, now we have to have a lesbian sleepover. We'll even take turns kissing each other, lie and say it's for practicing kissing the boys we like! Heehee!" 

Karkat turned brighter red, shoving at his friend.

"John. For fuck's sake... Seriously." He rubbed his forehead, groaning. "Okay. different subject. Now. How about... I'm willing to discuss... last night instead of lesbian date-night sleep over party shenanigan bullshit."

Now it was John's turn to blush, and it was plain as day since he didn't think to turn his head away from the older teen. But he didn't seem as uncomfortable, nor guilty; just... a bit shy. "Uh..." He grinned sheepishly, gaze falling to the sheets over his feet. "Yeah." Eloquent, John. 

He raised a brow, sitting up properly. "What's this? Now you quiet down?"

"I-I'm just trying to get used to this is all! It's still really weird to me to feed and not feel horrible about it. To think to myself hey, I'm full and it's okay?" He pulled the covers up in a fisted bunch, covering half his chest. "It's not that I feel guilty or regret it or anything, I just... kinda feel like I don't know what to say. If I keep saying "thank you" it'd just be annoying, right?"

"How about 'I enjoyed it'?" He paused a moment, thinking over it. "You...did, didn't you?"

"Uh, erm." The incubus scratched his cheek absently, still a bit embarrassed. "Probably more than I should have, yeah. Is that weird? I mean, it was kind of the first time I didn't feel guilty or anything, so it was... really nice. I kind of got a better idea of why people do it so much."

"Um... John. That's absolutely normal. Are you telling me you've never... Have you never gotten off before or something? Before last night?" Oh please don't say you didn't get off last night. Fuck fuck. that would make me what. the most greedy shit on the planet. Karkat sat up on the bed, blankets and pillow pulled over his lap.

The younger boy stared directly at Karkat, trying to read his expression. Was that a bad thing, if he didn't? "No, I haven't. At least I don't think so? I've seen people have it happen to them, and it looks really different from what I've experienced. I've gotten turned on before, but... sex was this really ugly thing to me so I never really tried it myself. I'd just wait till my arousal went away, like last night. Doesn't take long."

His cheeks went bright red and he pulled a pillow over his face. "Oh my god. Selfish-selfish-selfish. Why didn't I... John... ugh .You're not supposed to do things like that it's supposed to be mutual enjoyment."

"But I did enjoy myself." John blinked, looking quite perplexed as he stared at the pillow that should have been Karkat's face.

"No I mean..." he pulled the pillow back, looking at John in extreme frustration. "You haven't... Did you orgasm last night?" his cheeks were burning.

John just shook his head silently, though he didn't look upset in the slightest. In fact, he was giving Karkat a bit of a 'why is this even an issue' look. 

"Sex is mutual enjoyment. Two people coming together. It's supposed to be pleasurable for both parties. It's not fair to you if you're not getting anything out of it, it's not fair to me if I'm not getting anything out of it. If I'm getting without giving that's like stealing. At least to me."

"But I was being fed, so I was totally getting something out of it. Probably more, even! Orgasms are cool I guess, but without eating, I'd die." John shrugged. "So I kind of think you're the one that got the short end of the stick. Was that a sex joke? Can I turn that into a sex joke somehow?"

"That was not a sex joke. It cannot be a sex joke. It will not be a sex joke. No one's anything is short in this house." now he knew he was red, definitely. "You mean to tell me you've never eaten and had an orgasm at the same time? Is that what I'm hearing here?"

"... Have _you_?" John's lips down-turned into a remnant of a stubborn pout. 

"I'm sorry, I've never been turned on by making spaghetti before." he returned, rolling his eyes.

Oh. Good point. 

"Maybe you're just making spaghetti the wrong way this whole time." John snickered. 

"There's no way to make spaghetti that's actually sexy. It looks like brains." he scowled, making wiggly fingers. "Brains and gross shit. It's only edible because I know what it's made of."

"Ewww, now I can't watch you eat that anymore!" John made a disgusted face, tongue sticking out. "Gross. Last image I needed was of you devouring something's brains."

"Yeah yeah." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously though. You never had an orgasm before?"

"Still not sure why this is the hot topic of the morning."

“Because it's important to me." he scowled. "But I'll shut up about it if talking about it bugs you so much." It didn't seem like he was going to get any kind of answer out of him anyway.

Great, now he felt bad. A loud, overdramatic sigh, and John held his hands up in surrender. 

"Fine, yeah. Like I said, I've never had an orgasm. At least I'm pretty sure. If you feel somehow responsible or something, you can always suck me off."

That caught Karkat's attention, quirking a brow.

"Really? Should I hold you to that?"

John gave him a flat, un-amused expression. "Well? I'm waiting."

"This has to be the worst, most un-sexy... Really? When I'm irritated? Really John?" he sighed, rubbing his forehead. Not only had he never done that before, but he was irritated and completely unimpressed. That could not be a good combination. How did John do it last night?

"Holy shit, Karkat I was joking." Was the incredulous reply, though it was followed up by a shameless laugh. "Lighten up, man! I'm fine with the way things are, so don't get your panties in a wad."

A roar of frustration followed bedding flying into the air, and Karkat rolled off the bed, scooping up clothes as he went, marching out of the room.

"I give up. It's too early in the morning to try to translate from John to whatever the hell I'm speaking because I'm convinced it's not English anymore."

"Ah! Karkat!" John tried to stop the raging teen, but Karkat was already out of the room before John could make a move. Well, at least this took care of the embarrassing issue of getting out of this bed naked. The incubus slid out from the covers, and quickly put his boxers back on. Geez, what was up with Karkat anyway? He needed to learn how to take a joke. Did this whole thing really upset him to the point of having a tantrum? So what if John never.... ugh, he could barely even think of the word without getting himself flustered. Was it even really that big of a deal? Guess if he's never had one, he can't really make the decision, but come on. 

"Karkaaaaaaat." He half-whined as he made his way into the living area. "Come on, I'm just kidding around! You're totally making all my jokes unfunny."

"For me to make them unfunny, they'd have to be funny to begin with, and here's a clue-in, John. I don't find that kind of intimacy to be something to joke about!" he shoved a hand through his hair, marching into the bathroom, dragging the door shut behind him. The rant continued inside, but it was muffled by wood and the sound of a shower starting.

Ohhh man, this was his fault, wasn't it? Fuck. "Hey," John made his way down the short hallway and knocked on the bathroom door, ears drooping a bit once he heard the shower turn on. "Karkat! I'm sorry, okay? Open up, don't just get all angry and close the door on me!"

The door swung open and Karkat glared at him, looking as though he'd been about to step into the water. "Oh, okay. I'll try not to get all angry on you and shut doors in your face when I'm frustrated that you're clearly not trying to understand my meaning when I try to talk about something serious. What. Do you want. John?"

At first the younger boy clammed up, looking away with a bit of shame - though it wasn't because Karkat was giving him quite a view. 

"I'm sorry, alright? I know you were pretty serious and all, I just... I sometimes tend to make jokes when I get uncomfortable." He blushed faintly. "Er, or in this case, embarrassed. I didn't mean to make fun of you or anything."

Karkat scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing in frustration.

"That kind of thing isn't... Don't joke about that kind of thing, okay? Believe it or not I'm nervous about all of this too. That's kind of an important subject." he rolled his hands as he spoke, sighing. "Just... Ugh I ... I'm going to take my shower, then I'm going to show you the wonderful world of 'sex education'."

John rubbed the back of his neck, still politely averting his eyes. He had almost forgotten Karkat was a... or rather, had been a virgin until just last night. Did oral sex count when taking someone's virginity, anyway? Maybe he did need some education about this. "This is going to be really awkward, isn't it." It wasn't a question. 

Karkat nodded and turned back into the bathroom, sighing. 

"More than you know. Worse than having to sit through Sunday service when you've got gas." He pulled the curtain on the shower and stepped in, shoulders drooping.

Well, that was a very particular image Karkat painted. John peered in once the older teen pulled the curtain to, raising a brow since Karkat didn't bother to close the door. He had to take in a slow breath, because oh man it was just the perfect setup for so many amazing pranks but damn it, Karkat just seemed pretty upset so this was obviously not the time. It almost physically pained him to close the door so the steam wouldn't travel to other parts of the house. 

He made his way to the couch in the living room, and he sat down, grabbed the remote, and turned the tv on to distract himself. It wasn't like he was upset or anything, but he did feel a bit guilty. After so many years of avoiding human contact for the most part, of course his social skills would be lacking in certain areas. No wonder Karkat got mad at him. And the morning directly after he did something entirely selfless, too! He shook his head, making himself snap out of it. No use dwelling on something so small, especially since it wasn't like Karkat was still mad at him. But John did begin to wonder just what the older teen was planning on doing once his shower was done. Sex education? Like he even needed that. He knew more than he wanted to know about sex. Maybe they'd just both have a good laugh or something.

He made his way back out of the shower with a pair of sweat pants on, a towel over his head, hands scrubbing the water out. The frustration from the morning had been forgotten under the hot water of the shower. 

"Pull up the laptop and turn it on. After I get some food in, we're going to go net surfing." he made his way into the kitchen, rooting through the fridge, expecting John to at least figure it out. He'd seen Karkat do it a few times, hadn't he?

John nodded and grabbed the laptop sitting on the coffee table, flipping it open and pressing the power button. While the fan started buzzing and the screen turned on, John turned his attention back to the tv, watching some drama about doctors in a hospital. Hospitals kind of freaked him out because he's never been in one and they seemed so freaking scary with the needles and sterile white everything, but the one cranky doctor was really amusing. He glanced back at Karkat a few times while he heard the sound of preparing food, and he twiddled his thumbs. "Um." He finally spoke up. "Which icon is the internet again?"

"The circle with red yellow and green in thirds and a blue circle in the center. says 'chrome'." the scent of eggs started from the kitchen. "It works best

"Chrome, chrome..." John fumbled with the wireless mouse for a moment, and clicked on the icon. Another click. A huff. Oh right, is this one of the things you double click? Oh yeah, there it goes. A page already opened up, loading from the previous session. "... Pfhaha! Karkat, why is there a video of a kitten on here? Oh my god it's so cute! Its legs are so short, kitten legs aren't that short!"

"Oh...My... John!" he scrambled out of the kitchen, slapping the lid down. "God... Damnit. Don't judge me."

"Ah! Why did you do that, I was watching it!" John shoved at Karkat with one hand, opening the lid back up with the other. "Why would I judge you, dude? That kitten was freaking adorable. Do you watch videos of cats 'cause you're like one? Heehee!" The screen turned back on from black, and a still form the same video came back on. 

"I just... like cats. Don't read too much in to it." He scowled, marching back into the kitchen to get his food. "Fucking... Burned."

"Aw man, I'm sorry!" John put the laptop back on the coffee table and got to his feet, making his way into the kitchen that once smelled of eggs instead of... burnt eggs. "Um. You could just put some ketchup on it to cover up the burnt parts."

"I can't eat burnt food. Burnt food has carcinogens. Carcinogens cause cancer. Cancer kills. A dead Karkat can't feed living a John." he rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Whoa, really? All these things that cause cancer... man, that's scary." He eyed the eggs, wondering if it was particularly dangerous for his kind to eat something burnt. Some demons could eat some pretty weird and dangerous stuff, but he wasn't going to risk it. Even if the eggs still did smell pretty good even mingled with the blackened bits. "Want me to run over to that shop at the end of the street and get you some more?"

"We're still good for eggs. I only went shopping yesterday." he rolled his eyes, grabbing out some bread and cheese. "I'll just make some cheese toast or something. That's safe enough."

John nodded, letting Karkat do his thing. "Um, just out of curiosity... what are going to do on your laptop?"

"We're going to educate you. We're going to pull out all the sex education information we can and we're going to teach you about mutual pleasure and the functions of sex." he huffed, starting his sandwich

"I know plenty about sex! Probably more than you." Wow, saying that left a really nasty taste in his mouth. "I mean, if you want to do something different next time... I can do that. I don't mind."

"You certainly don't act like it." he scowled, prodding John's side. "Sex is a mutual thing. That's what you're going to learn today." Or what he hoped his friend would learn. He slapped the cheese toast sandwich together, frustrated again.

"I know that." He rubbed at his side, gaze averting for a moment. "Look, this is just kind of hard for me, okay? I mean, up until now, sex was a horrible thing that made me feel sick just thinking about. Will you just let me take baby steps here? If you... want to do something for me next time, that's fine. I can try that." His face was so red it started actually feeling hot. 

"I'm giving you the tools to take the baby steps because this is a new thing for me too, I'm just coming at it from a different angle. We're going together, doesn't that count for something?" he took a bite from his sandwich, sighing

... Together, huh? Being reminded that they were both in similar boats made John feel a bit more at ease. Even though they were both concerned about different things, and even though John had plenty of sex in his lifetime, they were both trudging in unknown waters. "Yeah, it does." He admitted. "I guess we've both got stuff we can teach each other, then?"

"I guess." He polished off the last corner of his sandwich and turned to walk out of the kitchen. "Let's see if we can't find something useful."

John just nodded silently and followed the older teen back onto the couch. He sat down, bringing his legs up to his chest while making himself comfortable, his tail wrapping around his ankles. "They have sex videos on the internet, right? We could just watch those."

"We're not watching sex videos, John. We're watching sex education and relationship informational videos, because clearly my romcoms have left little impression on you." he gave his friend a flat expression. "From what I understand, friends with benefits still benefit from things like that."

"Friends with benefits?" John blinked, quirking a brow. 

"Friends who have sex." Karkat explained, cheeks going red.

"Oh!" That was easy enough. "I didn't know there was a term for that! I already learned something, hehe!"

"There's a whole romcom movie based around it. I think it's literally called 'friends with benefits'? It has Justin Timberlake and the brunette from That 70's show. They're both spurned by their lovers and turn to their best friends for comfort, then decide the best way to deal with their libidos and not have to deal with love is to sleep with each other, since they're friends anyway. They wind up falling in love in the end but that's not the whole point of the thing." he shrugged, loping over to the couch to drag open the computer again. "The point is: That's how I found out there's a term for the word."

"Huh." John leaned back when Karkat opened the laptop back up. "I bet you learned more from your romcoms than you have at school! Should we watch that movie while taking notes or something?"

"I did, actually." he nodded, proud of that fact. "We might watch the movie, but taking notes is silly."

"Okay, okay. Should I be taking notes now instead?" He leaned in closer to the older teen, ears almost touching as he peered down at the laptop screen. "What's "Google"?"

"Yes. Google is a search engine. How have you gotten through life without internet?"

"I tried using a computer at a library once, didn't appeal to me." John was still looking at the screen, like he wasn't too sure what Karkat meant by "search engine" either. 

Karkat stared at him for a full five minutes, dumbfounded. "Didn't...appeal. John. John in the communication age, hint: That's this age, you're pretty much required to know how to use the internet."

"Well I've gotten by so far, haven't I?" John pouted. "Just show me whatever it is you're gonna pull up."

"Right. You're going to be required to ask questions where you get confused. Got it?" He sighed in frustration, turning back to the computer, pounding in the search into the field, jaw set to the side.

"Fiiiine. Do I get to call you Teacher, too?" His tail wagged once before settling back down beside his leg. "Teacher Karkat, hehe!"

Karkat's cheeks went bright red, and he focused hard on the computer.

"Fine. Just don't overdo it."

John just giggled mischievously. With that sort of reaction from Karkat, he wished he knew more about school - but he hardly knew anything, sans the few movies he'd seen that briefly talked about it. Not exactly great pranking material. Maybe he could figure out how to use Karkat's computer while he's at work to look that sort of stuff up.

John comes to the horrific conclusion that he didn't actually know as much about sex as he initially thought.

He wasn't raised by humans, in a human household, in a human society, so he never went to school. He hardly used the internet, and whatever books he read in whatever local library he was near were usually science fiction. As such, John never saw any diagrams of the human body - much less diagrams of /inside/ the human body. 

Needless to say, Karkat had his hands full making sure John stayed on the couch while he flipped through various pages he found on basic sex education. Thankfully they didn't really dwell on anatomy studies, but what came after that was somehow even worse. Sexually transmitted diseases, injuries caused by careless or rough intercourse, and these weird rubbery balloon things John remembered seeing a few times before but had no freaking idea that was supposed to go on a penis and oh god why did Karkat click on a video demonstration of how to put one on.

There wasn't a whole lot to be said in the end, but John did openly admit there was quite a bit he didn't know. Eventually, questions were asked about Johns previous "partners" (god John was thankful Karkat called them that for some weird reason), but the incubus assured that his kind was impervious to many of the things humans were at high risk for when being sexually active. His mother taught him a bit about STD's (though at the time he didn't really know what those were), among other things an incubus living among humans would be concerned about, and that such diseases were incompatible across the different species. Karkat seemed pretty relieved about that.

Eventually John couldn't stand it anymore. He practically begged Karkat to put in one of his movies (any movie, even a romcom please Karkat we've went through enough), and the older teen reluctantly agreed since they got all the important stuff out of the way. John was never so happy to see a chick flick. There was a bit of awkward air about them for a while, but eventually John gave in and resumed his entirely too familiar cuddling halfway through the movie. 

The next few days, Karkat had work; and John took this opportunity to leave the apartment in search for a job even though he would have to keep it a secret from Karkat for a little while longer. He just couldn't stand sitting at home all day with little to do, not when Karkat had bills to pay and he was perfectly capable of at least trying to earn his keep. However, his first few visits were fruitless; John was only fifteen, and he actually looked a bit younger than that, so he was asked to hand over an ID in all but one place (which of course didn't end well since he didn't have one). His last attempt was a supermarket, and he thought he nailed it since the manager never asked for an ID. But his age soon arose as a question, and when John answered truthfully, he was declined. 

He did his best not to sulk the rest of the night. And either he was a master at hiding his emotions and Karkat didn't notice, or his roommate just didn't say anything. It was the morning after, John asked if he could handle the grocery shopping and attempt to make dinner. Karkat reluctantly handed over some cash and gave him a very specific list of what to get - and John practically beamed. He spent hours on Karkat's laptop trying to find recipes he could attempt to try and surprise his friend, and actually successfully made a meager pasta with some veggies. Or at least, he hoped it was successful. Karkat ended up eating all of it, so that was a good sign, right? Well, offering to cook again certainly couldn't hurt.

"Hey Karkat!" John smiled from the couch when Karkat returned home that evening. It was actually a bit earlier than his usual schedule. "I didn't expect you home at five. Want me to cook again? I found something we could do with the potatoes and carrots."

Karkat quirked a brow at him, then drew them together, letting out a little 'hummmm'.

"When you say 'I found something' what do you mean? Roast? What are we talking about here?"

"Uhhh." John stared blankly at Karkat for a moment, before he grabbed the laptop and turned it towards him, fumbling with the mouse a bit and clicking a few times. "Stew! We can toss in the leftover chicken with that too."

He stared at him, then nodded.

"Alright. I guess if the house isn't burned down." He teased, smirking. "I'm going to get a shower. I'm covered in flower and sugar. It's gross. Deal with this?" He held out the bag of ruined bread he always brought home.

John grinned brightly as he grabbed the bag, and immediately dug in and shoved what was probably supposed to be some sort of french roll in his mouth. It was the one thing he didn't feel guilty about eating, since Karkat always ended up throwing most of them out after a day or so. And they were actually pretty good! Kind of crunchier than other bread he's eaten, but still good. "Mmffmf." He muttered a muffled reply to his roommate as he took the bag back into the kitchen. 

Karkat rolled his eyes, striding off to his room to grab a spare set of clothes before trudging into the shower. 

"Be good." he left the door cracked to allow steam to escape, and started the shower, muttering to himself about his day and the frustration it'd caused him.

John couldn't help but peer out into the hallway once he heard the water turn on. Be good? Oh man, there's no way. No fucking way when Karkat has left the bathroom door cracked open, yet again. The incubus gripped the side of the wall with his fingers, and he stared at the door for a little while, debating whether or not it would be wise to prank his friend after a long day's work. 

After long, tantalizing minutes, John resigned himself to the kitchen and decided to instead start preparing some of the food. As much as it constantly tempted him, bathrooms sort of seemed a little too potentially dangerous for pranking. Even though it was just so perfect because Karkat would never expect it, he didn't so much like the idea of startling him so bad it makes him falls in the shower and break something. Maybe he'll think of something perfect eventually, but not tonight.

A good thirty minutes later, John had some potatoes, carrots, and cabbage unevenly chopped and thrown into a pot. The broth was only just warming up as he shuffled around in Karkat's meager spice cabinet to gather the ingredients listed on the recipe site. 

Karkat was out of the shower with a towel on his head in half that time, currently wearing a pair of sweat pants and the towel, scrubbing his hair dry as he walked in.

"So... is food ready?"

"Nope, it's gotta heat up and simmer for 20 minutes." John didn't look up as he carefully (way /too/ carefully) added gravy mix into a measuring spoon, making sure he didn't have one grain too much or too little before dropping it in the pot. "If I start making dinner every night, you think I should get a frilly apron to start wearing? Haha oh man that'd be funny."

"You shouldn't be cooking with your torso exposed anyway, in case things pop or boil over. Burns can hurt, worse, grease burns can cause permanent damage deep into the skin." or he thought it could.

John actually pondered that, looking down at his bare midriff. Well, bare everything, sans the boxers that became the sole piece of his daily wardrobe when he could stay at home and relax without making himself disguised as a human. Maybe an apron wouldn't really be a bad idea. Those tie in the back, right? It'd just be like a backless shirt, which wouldn't restrain his wings. 

"Pff, want I should wear only an apron for you?" A sly grin towards his roommate. 

Karkat went red head to toe and shoved the towel forward over his head, hiding behind it. "John where the fuck did you get that idea. What the fuck. What. The actual fuck??" the idea shot straight to his groin and it made him incredibly uncomfortable on a couple of levels. (all the levels)

Oh. There was no way that wasn't going to happen, now. The second John got a job, that first pay check was going towards the frilliest, girliest apron he could find. 

"I'm not hearing a no~!" John half sang, half giggled as he stirred the contents of the pot in front of him. His tail wagged back and forth gleefully as he added the last of the spices. Just a dash of pepper, some more salt.... "I had no idea you were into that sort of thing. Heehee!"

"I didn't say 'yes' either!" He groaned, leaning on the wall, smacking his head on it. "Why would you... Why would you even put that in my head?"

John wasn't even going to say just how much time he's had to browse the internet while Karkat's at work. Okay, so maybe he's been on a few... less than innocent websites. In his argument though, it truly was in an effort to find things he could do for Karkat. Even if just the memory of going on those sites made a blush rise to his cheeks. "Oh come on, prankster's gambit is totally in my favor now. Why /wouldn't/ I put that in your head?" Translation: you're just so adorable when you squirm, not that I'm telling you that. 

"I didn't deserve that. You're an idiot and an asshole." he snarled, rubbing at his forehead. He wasn't sure if this fell outside the rule about 'sex just before dinner'. "Different subject: are you hungry?"

"Huh? I just had-" Two dinner rolls, he meant to say, but he stopped and stared at the pot that was just barely beginning to come to a boil. Oh. "Oh. Right. Um... I guess I'm starting to get a little hungry. I can go at least another few days, safely."

"Better safe then sorry, right? Besides, you're making me dinner, it's only fair." he shrugged. It didn't hurt that feeding John was actually kind of nice for the both of them.

John was significantly less nervous, but he still looked a bit flustered as he stirred the pot. "Th-that's fine." Fuck, did he really stutter? Damn it. "You just let me know when... you know. Do you have work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not as exhausted after it as I thought I'd be." Lies. All of them. But what John didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

"Okay." John nodded, and tapped the ladle over the side of the pan before setting it down to let the pot simmer. "Lets get you fed first though, alright?" He stepped towards the older teen, and slid his arms over Karkat's shoulders as he closed the gap between them. A gentle, clawed hand brushed over the side of Karkat's ear before combing through his hair, and John brushed their cheeks together in an affectionate nuzzle right as a purr whispered through his throat. 

Karkat leaned against John, sighing. The affection wasn't that bad, actually.

John pulled back after a few moments, and gave the older teen a sincere smile. "Thanks, Karkat." His hand lingered just a little bit on his roommate's arm, but it fell once he changed the subject. He knew he could quickly kill Karkat with over expressing his gratitude. "So, wanna chill on the couch for a bit while this simmers? Shouldn't be much longer."

"Sure. I'll even let you pick what we get to watch tonight." he was going to regret that. He knew it already.

"Whoa, really? Awesome!" The incubus wasted no time flopping down on the couch, quickly grabbing the remote. He flipped through the channels, pointedly avoiding Karkat's small collection of DVDs just to the right of the TV. Only a few channels into surfing, John stopped and stared wide-eyed, the image of a gigantic UFO covering a metropolis area panning across the screen. Whatever it was, movie or tv show, it appeared to be a good ways into it - not that stopped John. 

Karkat recognized it immediately. At least the boy had chosen a will smith movie. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He flopped down beside his roommate, pulling his feet onto the couch.

A pair of arms wrapped around Karkat's waist, and John pulled himself close to the older teen, their legs tangling together as John minded his claws. The incubus settled down, half on top of Karkat half squished between the cushions, and he rested his head on his roommate's shoulder. 

Karkat glanced at him, shrugging the shoulder that wasn't currently occupied. He imagined his friend was just snacking, so the cuddling didn't get to him too much. It must have been something like popcorn or cookies. Nice but not filling?

Well, it seemed that way at first. A short while passed and exactly two commercial breaks came and went, and John stayed still for the most part, basking in the close proximity of his friend. Every now and then he felt a purr rise to his throat and he snuggled in, nuzzling the side of Karkat's face though he tried not to be too terribly annoying since his roommate appeared to be enjoying the movie too. John probably would have been infatuated with it had it not been for the tiny nagging voice in the back of his head and bred excitement and anticipation.

He really didn't mean to get ahead of himself or anything. But while two nameless men (okay maybe they had names, but John wasn't really paying attention anymore) yelled at one another on the screen, he leaned up and brushed his lips over Karkat's neck. A purr turned into a soft, almost possessive growl and he nipped the lobe of the older teen's ear, fangs gently prodding the skin before letting his tongue slip past his lips and lick the skin timidly. 

The attention on his neck was almost always enough to distract him from what he was doing, but at this point it was distracting him from a Will Smith movie, and he couldn't let that sta--was that a tongue? Yes, that was a tongue. And he was growling.

His stomach objected and he sighed, prodding John. "Gonna let me eat first?"

"Of course," The incubus giggled softly, though contrary to his words, fangs gently nipped lower down on Karkat's neck. "I'm just having a little snack before your dinner is ready." It wouldn't be long now though; the timer he set on the microwave hasn't gone off, but it should soon. 

"Making me eat while I'm turned on. I see what you're doing here, John. I see what you're doing." he leaned against the other boy. "Tricky."

"What? You're turned on just from this?" The laugh may have been just a little bit sheepish, but he wasn't about to stop. He placed a kiss on the juncture of Karkat's neck and shoulder, tail sliding over bare legs. "Not my fault you're easily excited..." He purred, and licked Karkat's neck in a tantalizingly slow motion, before gently sucking on the dampened skin. His hands trailed down Karkat's sides slowly, claws every so softly raking against bare skin, lingering when they got to his hips.

Suddenly, a high pitched beeping rang from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!" John exclaimed gleefully, and got off of the couch as quickly as he got on, rushing into the kitchen as he left Karkat, seemingly forgotten.

The human growled in frustration, clenching and unclenching his hands to try to calm himself and focus on anything to make it easier to get off the couch and to the eating area. Easily excited and not so easily calmed.

John stirred the pot a bit more, then grabbed a bowl and poured in a generous helping. He set that down, grabbed a glass and a spoon, getting everything all perfectly set up on the counter for Karkat to come eat. He even placed the utensil on a folded paper napkin, kind of like how they do in restaurants. Or at least, the ones John had seen on TV. 

"... You going to eat or just lay there all night?" John peered over the counter, raising a brow at his motionless roommate. 

"Seriously? Fuck you. Don't play with your food." He raised a hand, turned it so the back was facing John, and carefully folded his index, ring and pinky fingers. A moment later he rolled off the couch, stumbling to his feet then over to the counter, grumbling something about 'making a mistake laying on the asshole before dinner'.

John just giggled. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone while you eat, then." He rolled his eyes and walked back to the couch, plopping back down to watch more of the movie he didn't really pay much attention to in the first place. Which is a shame, because it looked like he really would have liked it, but it didn't help they started halfway into it. 

Karkat started shoving the stew in, trying to make quick work so he could get back to doing what they'd been doing before dinner. It wasn't long before he'd all but licked the bowl clean and tossed it in the sink with it's spoon.

"Done. In record time. You're welcome."

"Whaaat? Did you even taste it, dude? I go out of my way to make you a wonderful dinner and you just inhale it?" John sat up on the couch, eyes wide. "Rude!"

"It speaks to how good it was, thank you very much." he huffed. "I wouldn't have bothered to eat it if I didn't like it. You never saw a kid push peas around their plate before? Idle over a meal because they didn't want to eat something? Why am I shocked that you don't know anything about human culture?"

"Well, I guess that's true." He blinked, at least grateful Karkat ate it all. But he ate it so fast, he kind of wondered if he would have even noticed it didn't taste good. "I'm just glad it was edible, hehe."

He flopped down on the couch once more, rolling his eyes at John. "You didn't burn it or put shoes in. I think we can say you don't suck at it. Unlike your dusting skills. We've got to work on that.

"So you didn't notice the dish detergent that fell in? I put in some more potatoes to cover it up, I guess it worked!"

"I think you're lying because not even you are dumb enough to even accidentally poison your roommate. You know. The guy paying your rent, feeding you, bringing you those crispy rolls you like so much?"

John rolled his eyes. "I didn't poison it, of course I'm not that stupid. Do you, like, even have poison laying around? I said detergent, not poison."

"Detergent is poison, John. It can kill a person." Maybe it was time to prank the pranking master. "One drop of washer detergent and you get a little sick. A lot and you DIE John. A human can die like that."

"Whaat?! Then why would you wash your dishes with it? That makes no sense! You're just pulling my leg."

"Because you wash it off with water and it slides off the plates if they're clean. That's how you know they're clean. If you don't die eating, you or your wash machine did a good job rinsing off the detergent. If you die, you fail. Game over. Gone. Humans are fragile creatures, didn't you know?"

"Okay, fine, I get it, I failed in pranking you. I didn't drop detergent in the stew. Can you stop freaking me out now? You're making me worried that hugging you wrong will snap you in half or something."

He snickered, leaning on him. "You probably could. But to be honest but I trust you."

Wow. Of all things, that's what made him blush? "Well, if you ate a little more...." John giggled, sliding an arm around Karkat's back and he brushed his nose over Karkat's cheek. "If you didn't look like a twig, maybe you wouldn't break like one."

"I eat just fine, thanks." he huffed, resting his head on John's shoulder. Being held was nicer than he thought it was.

"Hehe, well I guess you don't have to worry either way." A clawed hand wove its way into Karkat's hair, nails gently combing it. "I wouldn't ever hurt you. I'd never let anyone else hurt you, either."

He smiled, nuzzling his neck. "I can appreciate that... I'd do my best to protect you too."

"Aww," John giggled, pulling Karkat into an all-out tight hug, and maybe even gave him a small peck on the cheek. "You're the best friend ever, Karkat. Stop it, you're making me want to stop pranking you."

Karkat flushed, prodding his side. "Don't make promises you don't intend to keep, john." He didn't believe for a moment that the incubus would ever not prank him.

"Pffhehe, stop that." John giggled, then leaned in close and placed a warm, open-mouth kiss on Karkat's neck. "Okay, maybe I wouldn't stop ... but I only prank people I like, anyway."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Okay. I can accept that." His neck was turning into a weakness he needed to defend.

John just absolutely loved how the longer this went, the shorter and shorter Karkat's responses would get. He wondered for a moment if he was the only person who knew how the sharp-tongued and quick-witted Karkat Vantas would be reduced to near-incoherent single word retorts when aroused. Well, considering he was a virgin up until just a few days ago, he probably was. For some reason, that thought shot heat right to his groin. 

Hands trailed down to Karkat's torso, where he slid his fingers in just under the hem of his pants, just at the bony part of his hips. "You want to... move back to your room again?" He asked in between breaths as he peppered kisses down to Karkat's collarbone.

"Little couch, two bodies. Not a good mix for anything other than movie night." That was about as much thinking as he wanted to be doing right then. He rolled off John--pulling away from those kisses was hard, but it hand to be done. "Join me?" He managed to find his feet, looking at the other boy.

"Nah, I was thinking we could do this sex thing in different rooms." John chuckled, following his roommate closely.

Karkat rolled his eyes and held open the door. "Seriously? Seriously john?"

The incubus didn't go in the room first, though. He brought his hands up to Karkat's shoulders instead of walking past him, and slowly began leading him backwards into the room. "Maybe I'd humor it if you didn't look so delicious." John grinned as he led them a few more steps, until the corner of the bed hit the back of Karkat's knees. 

He squeaked at that, flushing bright red, hands clinging to John to prevent himself from falling over. "Someone's feeling better about everything."

"Should I not be?" John inquired, and while there was a playful tone dancing in his voice, he did actually look a bit concerned. "I've kind of... never done this before. Enjoying this, I mean. Am I being an asshole or something? Please tell me you'd tell me if I was being an asshole."

"You're ... surprising me a little." He let himself drop to the bed, tugging on the other boy.

"I, uh..." John followed, bringing a knee up to the side of Karkat's leg as he rested himself against the mattress. "I was kind of worried about acting as reserved as I had been and making you feel uncomfortable. Am I going too far the other way?"

"Little bit. You're fine somewhere in the middle." He laughed, reaching up to brush some hair back out of John's face

"Hehe, okay." John gave him a sheepish smile, and leaned down to place a kiss along Karkat's jaw. He slowed down a bit, making sure everything he did wasn't going so fast that Karkat wouldn't have time to stop him. He ran one hand down from Karkat's shoulder to brush over the expanse of his chest, using more of the pads of his fingers rather than his claws.

Karkat sighed, closing his eyes, brushing his fingers over the other boy's hair and horns. He leaned his head up to follow the trail of John's hands, licking his lips. This was a definite good change from the first time.

"How..." John sighed, his words cutting short as he breathed out. His eyes fell shut peacefully, enjoying the sensation of Karkat's fingers in his hair. Wow, this was really nice, being touched like this. "How would you like to do this.... this time?"

He watched John in fascination before realizing he'd actually been asked a question. His cheeks flushed and he laid his head back. "Wh...what's best...? I don't..." He expected him to think right now? God damn it John.

"Well I dunno, you said you wanted to do something different." He brought a hand up to place over Karkat's own hand that rested just beside his horns, and he opened his eyes at half mast. "You weren't too happy with last time...so, I dunno..."

He nodded, rubbing his thumb against one of the other boy's fingers.

"I did say that didn't I?" How did one arouse an incubus? He brushed his free hand over the other boy's shoulder and pulled him up until he was level. "I guess we...put what we read into practice mm?"

John blushed, and it was impossible to hide it. They read a lot of stuff, mostly about heterosexual couples; it was obvious what to do in that situation, but this was a bit different. For one, they could really do this without penetration - contrary to a lot of the information they read about. There was a bit about oral sex, some certain fetishes (John could not wrap his mind around S&M oh god), they found a few common positions... so what exactly was Karkat talking about in particular?

"I could... um..." He bit his lip thoughtfully and looked down, draping his other leg over Karkat's lap, and settled down to straddle him. Hands nervously went to rest on Karkat's shoulders, and he shifted his hips a bit, effectively grinding down softly against Karkat's - whoa yeah okay, he definitely felt Karkat's penis even through the layers of fabric between them. And he definitely made a shameless noise at the sensation, breath leaving him in a surprised gasp.

Karkat let out a groan of his own, rolling his hips up against John. He pulled the younger boy closer, nuzzling his shoulder, trying to control his breathing. 

"H-holyshit."

"Y-yeah." John whispered, feeling more aroused than... well, he wasn't sure if he'd ever felt like this before. He wanted this. He actually wanted this, maybe even not just for food because if every motion felt like this...

Another rock of his hips, and he more solidly ground his growing erection into Karkat's, their hips pressed together with a lot less shame than before. John didn't even feel the groan pass his lips, he was so used to being quiet during sexual situations. Heat pooled in his stomach far too quickly, making him almost lightheaded at the sudden rush of pleasure he never took part in until now. "Oh my god. W-wow."

He nodded in agreement, putting his hands on John's hips, hooking his fingers under the fabric.

"Clothes. Off." This was getting uncomfortably stifling. There needed to be less fabric and more skin.

Oh, good idea. John slipped off Karkat's lap for just a moment, his hands moving immediately to his roommate's pants, the button undone in seconds and the zipper following soon after. He might have also palmed Karkat's erection through the fabric after that, too. 

Karkat let out a long groan and a shameless buck up into the incubus' hand, tugging at John's waistband again.

But John was having none of that just yet. "Lift your legs," He offered, pulling down the waistband of Karkat's sweatpants, but he couldn't really do this while his roommate was sitting. 

Karkat shifted, wiggling to let the fabric move off him, deciding the fastest way to get what he wanted was to give John what he wanted. It didn't stop him from letting his hand slide in to the other boy's boxer's, just under the band, brushing his lower back.

"Hurry up."

John rolled his eyes a bit, but hurried up nonetheless. He was honestly a bit surprised when he pulled the sweatpants past Karkat's hips and he saw that his friend had decided to forego any underthings. Not that he was any different, really, but... wow, Karkat was already pretty hard. A blush rose back to his cheeks and he reached out, wrapping his hand gingerly around the older teen's hardening member. 

Karkat shuddered, tugging insistently on John's boxers, making an effort to lean up and look at him. "Your turn. Off."

An even darker blush rose his his cheeks, and John's hands flew to his boxers, determined to keep the fabric over his waist. He had the waistband in a death grip, claws almost ripping through the fabric. "Uh. Maybe we can do this without me being naked this time?"

A deep, frustrated sigh passed Karkat's lips and he let go of the fabric. "Okay. It's your dinner." Something about that offended him, but he wasn't about to push it.

Fuck, he really wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd get for asking that, but Karkat looked... pretty upset. Wow, he didn't expect to feel as guilty as he did right now. "I-it's not you!" He assured in a wavering voice, looking extremely shy all of the sudden. "It's me. It's, um.... I'm. I'm kind of weird?"

"No shit. You're an entirely different species from me. I can't even begin to list the things that are different just that I can see. But that doesn't stop me from completely not giving a fuck about them. Not a single fuck given. Look at this. the urge to give a fuck is going away." Clearly, as he was able to put together more than two words. "If I cared that you were different from me you wouldn't be in my apartment, you wouldn't be using my shower or even in this bed, but oh, look, you do all those things, don't you? Well shit. I can't imagine why that could be? Can you guess? I bet you can't."

It was going to take work to get the mood back now. As far as he was concerned John was deserving of this. Partially because of dinner earlier, partially because he was being stubborn. Again. Probably over something completely dumb that he wouldn't even care about anyway. Wasn't that always the case?

"I don't care if you give a fuck!" John felt the blush spread to his ears. "It's embarrassing to me is all! M-my... my p-penis is different than yours! It looks weird!"

God, talking about it just made things worse. He shouldn't care, he shouldn't feel so embarrassed and fuck he just wanted to get back to what they were doing before. If they had just gone a little longer, and waited until he was a little more aroused, the difference wouldn't really be there anymore. But he didn't feel near that erect yet. Well, if they were going to be doing this a lot, and John was going to be living here, it's not like he could hide forever. "Ugh, you know what? Fine! J-just don't laugh!" He winced and dropped his boxers, having to wiggle his tail free in order to get them to fall entirely to his feet. "Laugh and I'll give you a hickey or something to take to work tomorrow."

"If there's one thing I'm absolutely sure of, you do not laugh at a man's penis. Ever." he rolled his eyes dramatically and rolled to his side, looking at his friend. His eyes traveled over John, studying him carefully. "There's nothing to laugh at. Seriously. Haven't seen many in my day but as far as I can tell, you're not deformed. What were you worried about? You don't look exactly like me so you must be made wrong? You realize everyone is shaped differently right? Made differently? And there's a procedure humans do to their sons that you can opt out of or something happens sometime when they're really little. For some people it's part of their religion or something."

"It's not just you, I look different from everyone else I've seen!" John was sure he really couldn't blush any darker even if he tried. Nice, lets just bring back up the fact that you've done indecent things to a lot of men besides Karkat, nice one John. "And what do you mean, procedure? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Humans get a little piece cut off them when they're born. There's a religion that has a ceremony for it and everything, so really, we're pretty much alike, except pretty much all of us that you've run into have been mutilated at some point in our lives." way to scare the kid, Karkat.

"Oh my god, people cut baby penises?!" Well, if he hadn't completely lost his boner yet, he has now. Somewhere in the back of his head he was finally able to understand that wow okay, he's actually not /weird/, he just hadn't been horrifyingly mutilated when he was born. He really would have found the idea more comforting if it wasn't also downright nauseating to think that people actually did that and holy fuck that had to hurt why would they even do that? 

John successfully went from bright red to pale in record time. "And you guys think we're scary? Demons don't do stuff like that to their kids oh my god Karkat what if I'm too rough and I tear your penis open because it's mutilated-"

"Calm the fuck down, John. Have you torn anyone up there yet?" he gave his friend a dramatic eye-roll. "Unless you apply pressure and something sharp or you intentionally try to bend or snap or, heaven forbid, twist, anything that isn't meant to take that kind of damage, I'm not going to break. Come here." he tugged on the other boy, sighing heavily.

John gulped nervously, but nodded in acknowledgment and stepped closer, weaving his fingers through Karkat's own. "... Way to kill the mood." He pouted quietly, bottom lip sticking out just a tad in disapproving miniature scowl. He did not need the image of mutilated genitals before this. Nope, nope, nope. 

"Hey, you started it. I just got that shit over and done with. So now you know, you're not the weird one down there, I am. Feel better?"

"You're not weird, either." John chuckled, lifting one knee to rest on the edge of the bed, just beside Karkat's hips. This was... a lot closer than he'd ever been to someone. Naked, anyway. It was kind of thrilling him in ways he was really not expecting; and if it was anyone but Karkat, he'd probably be ashamed of that. "Your penis is perfectly fine. And I should know, I spent some quality time with it, hehe~"

Those words made Karkat blush and press his face into his friend's shoulder, prodding at the other boy's sides. "Perfectly fine is not what a guy wants to hear when he's trying to get it on with someone."

"Karkaaaaaaaaat," John grinned, and wrapped his arms around to Karkat's back, holding him in a secure hug. "Your penis is wonderful. It's perfect and amazing and cute, like you!"

"Cute? Are you trying to go hungry? You're trying to go hungry aren't you? That's the least sexy thing I've ever heard you say. I've heard you say some pretty dumb shit but that takes the fucking CAKE John. Cute Is not a thing you say about a man's penis. Not if you're an incubus looking to get fed." He didn't try to move away, but he did move to shove his arms down between his legs, effectively blocking off his crotch. "Cute is a puppy or a kitten. My penis is not a puppy or a kitten, John. Not at all. It's not cute. Got it?"

Oh god, no Karkat stop - no it was too late, John was already biting his lip, cheeks half puffed out and he vibrated just a bit in an effort to contain his laughter. It didn't work. 

"PFFFHEEHEE! Karkat stop you're putting all these very not sexy images in my head! And come on, 'cute' is a very endearing compliment!" He took a breath and tried to quell his laughter, though it didn't go away completely. "But okay, I won't call your penis 'cute' anymore. Do I need to kiss it to make it feel better?"

"...Stop laughing... and yeah. Kissing might help." he tried to be mad. He honestly tried.

Even through his teasing giggles, John calmed himself enough to give the older teen a sincere smile. It was really sweet in a really weird way, but as much as their banter had little place in the bedroom, it was just another part of his relationship with Karkat that he loved. 

He brought a hand up to brush away at Karkat's bangs fondly, then leaned in to place a single tender kiss on his jaw. Blue eyes watched him closely as he slid his leg back off of the bed, and he knelt down on the floor, fingers gently wrapping around Karkat's erection (which was understandably not quite as prominent as it had been when they first entered the room). Without giving Karkat any time to prepare himself, John pressed his lips to the head in a mock-kiss, grinning inwardly.

The kiss brought a sudden gasp from the human, color darkening his cheeks. True to their word, it had helped, his mind was suddenly very distracted from the former conversation and thoroughly focused on john and those lips.

John smiled and ran his lips down the underside of the older teen's cock, wet tongue sliding out to languidly slide along the warm skin. Once he got to the bottom, he placed another open-mouthed kiss at the very base, and sucked lightly, the skin there becoming quite slick in such a short amount of time.

Karkat put his fingers in John's hair and tugged lightly, trying to get him to come up on the bed with him again. He wasn't about to let John go without getting his share of satisfaction from this, this time.

The tug was immediately met with a deep growl, but contrary to how threatening the noise was, the look John gave Karkat was only one of mild annoyance. "Calm down, I'm almost done. I kind of thought you'd like to do this sex thing without chafing."

"Too much mouth. Going to go nuts. Fuck." He grumbled, leaning back on his elbows, trying to take calming breaths. It wasn't exactly easy to focus on anything when someone was licking you to what seemed like death. Patience was a virtue that was escaping his grasp at the moment.

John rolled his eyes but decided to pick up the pace lest he make Karkat whine even more. He ran his tongue back up the side of Karkat's growing erection, a rather copious amount of saliva left in its wake - and when he got to the head, he slid the entire organ into his mouth in one go, tongue rolling against it as he pulled back. After those few agonizing seconds passed, he pressed one last kiss to the very tip, then sat back up, sliding both knees onto the bed and straddled Karkat just like before.

The incubus took in a slow, shallow breath as he propped himself on his hands, bare chest resting timidly against Karkat's own. He adjusted his hips, the bed beneath them both creaking under the weight, and slowly, John rolled his hips against the older teen's, his erection sliding firmly against Karkat's in a single, controlled thrust.

Karkat tried to bite back a gasp, and pulled John close, his hand resting on the small of the incubus' back. He buried his face against the other boy's neck, groaning. This was a definite improvement on the mouth, in some ways.

John let a moan slip past his lips, surprised by the sound he made but not ashamed in the slightest. This was amazing. "God... K-Karkat..." He purred as he arched his back against the other boy's hand, and he rolled his hips again - slick, hot skin against skin. Holy shit, he could get used to this.

God and Karkat in the same sentence had a sort of ring to it. He smiled against the other's neck, rocking his hips up under him.

The incubus uttered a higher pitched whimper once he felt Karkat move to meet him in his erratic, increasingly desperate motions. His breath was hot and heavy as he gasped, Karkat's name trying to leave his lips again but it was drowned out by a groan, and he thrust harder against the older teen under him, enjoying the fact that with every push, their chests brushed against one another, and god, Karkat was just so close. He could hear the boy's heartbeat, his breath, feel the pulse beneath his skin....John's lips pressed against his roommate's neck, his tongue following soon after. He descended to a tanned shoulder, just as a dark growl emanated from deep within his chest. Claws dug into the comforter beside them, threatening to tear it - and sharp fangs dug their dips into Karkat's skin, both canines breaking just enough of the surface to produce two small droplets of blood. And his growl only grew louder.

Karkat's hands gripped John's hips, pulling him closer. The bite drew a moan from him, hips jerking up into his friend's. He tilted his head to the side, letting his friend get closer. His neck was the one place that his friend could drive him crazy with without fail.

Fangs scraped over Karkat's skin, much more confident than the timid little nips and butterfly kisses he had given his roommate in the past. The canines were especially sharp, leaving dark red welts in their wake until the incubus locked his jaw again and bit down with another possessive growl. Though skin didn't break this time, John slid his tongue over the tiny wounds, blood permeating his palate and he swore he almost came just from that.

John brought a hand up to the older teen's side, raking his claws firmly southward and leaving yet another trail of dark red lines against Karkat's previously unmarred skin. Fingers slipped around both his and Karkat's erections, gripping them together in a slick hold as he stroked, though his hips continued to move in erratic, only semi-controlled thrusts.

The human keened. He'd care about the welts and bites later but they were amazing right then. His hands traveled up the other boy's body to grip him behind the shoulders, holding him close. His hips jerked into John's hand, and he pressed his head into the other boy's shoulder, panting softly. It wasn't long now; he was slowly losing the ability to hold himself together.

But John already beat him to the punch; with a loud groan, voice raspy with the undertone of an animalistic growl, the incubus cried Karkat's name and his grip over the two of them tightened, his hips slowing to quick, sharp thrusts against both his hand and Karkat's member. Warm seed pooled over his fingers and ran down almost entirely on his room mate's erection, though a bit of it traveled as far as the boy's stomach. The waves of his orgasm began to dim, and John couldn't help but lean more weight against Karkat, suddenly exhausted even if his hand still limply gripped the both of their members.

Karkat joined John barely a moment later, clinging tightly as his hips rocked sharply against the other boy, a gasping cry his only response to the cry. With the added weight of his spent friend he collapsed to the bed, panting loudly, head lolling back on the comforter, eyes closing as he tried to calm himself.

The moment Karkat resigned to falling against the bed, John gave up trying to get his muscles to cooperate as well, and he let himself fall half on the comforter, half on top of his roommate. His eyelids fell to half mast, though they persisted in glowing for quite some time after he was done feeding. "H-holy fuck." Was all he could think of saying. He didn't even care his hand was sticky with mixed semen, or that he was uncomfortably warm and the air smelled like sweat. 

"Well... I... think you might have called me god in there somewhere so..." Karkat managed to laugh. "Pretty good observation. Way to go." he grinned a little, looking over at John, somewhat cocky. "I was right, wasn't I?"

John wasn't even sure he was focusing completely on Karkat's face as he continued to try and catch his breath, the glow in his eyes began to fade but it still stuck far longer than he knew it should have. "I.... whuh.... the fuck.... was that?" He asked raggedly, in between breaths. Every limb on his body felt like mush. This couldn't be normal.

"That was called an orgasm. That's what happens to a person when they feel sexual release. Congratulations on your first orgasm, John. You're a man now." he smirked, proud of John's reactions, somehow. He let his eyes travel his friend's body. John's hips might bruise, and he was pretty certain his shoulders would, but Karkat couldn't bring the energy it took to be embarrassed by that to the surface. "How're you feeling?"

".... A-amazing. Wow." John relaxed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to lean back just a bit more as he relished the sensation of the afterglow. No wonder people had sex all the time, it was like... wow, he couldn't even think of an analogy that did it justice. He licked his lips absently, tasting something mingled in the faint hint of sweat, something absolutely delicious, even though he was so full right now - 

"AHH!" The incubus suddenly shot up, looking down at Karkat with wide eyes, a hand raising to his mouth. "Did I bite you? Oh my god I did!"

Karkat's brows pulled together. The only place John's mouth had been was... his neck. Oh. His hand went to the spot, brushing over it with his fingertips.

The action brought a hiss to the teen's lips and a wince to his face. That shit stung.

"The fuck, John. Why?"

John's cheeks darkened horribly as he scrubbed the back of his hand over his lips to make sure there wasn't any more blood staining them. "I - I don't know! I don't really remember thinking about it! Holy shit I'm so sorry, how bad is it? Does it hurt?"

"More than a paper cut less than a fucking bee sting. What the hell?" He prodded the injury again, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't bite you... I might have grabbed a little hard but fuck."

"I already said I don't know! I just... kind of remember thinking..." Oh god, he actually did remember a bit now. "That you'd taste good?"

"Oh great. I'm a tasty meal for my friend and roommate in more than one way." Did he really mind? He fell quiet trying to think on that for a bit. "How bad does it look?" the claw marks were already stinging. That was going to drive him nuts.

"Not bad, really." John answered truthfully, but he did notice with disdain that the entire general area was flushed a dull red thanks to the attention he was giving it earlier. Well, it didn't exactly look like a hickey or anything so it's not like anyone would notice, right? "It's still bleeding a little though. Um..." He stared for a minute, looking a bit conflicted. "... Are you going to let it go to waste, or..."

"It's outside my body, John. To my knowledge it doesn't go back 'in' on it's own, so yeah, it's probably 'going to waste'..." he frowned, looking at his friend. "You want it, don't you." This was going to be a very weird relationship.

The incubus licked his bottom lip once, timidly, and he looked sheepishly back at Karkat. Or at least, not at the wound on his neck. "It's, uh... it's not like I need it?" Yes John, because that was totally the question. 

Karkat heaved a sigh and tilted his head to the side. "Whatever. You made the mess. You clean it up. but just this once. Got it?"

John didn't even have the words to reply, and instead purred loudly as he leaned in to timidly lick the small cuts. There was only a trace amount of blood, and it was already stopping at this point, but oh man did it taste good. The incubus settled himself down comfortably, one wing stretching out to drape over Karkat's abdomen in a lazy embrace as he sucked lightly, just once, to get just one more taste.

Okay, maybe he wasn't as mad about the bite as he thought he was. Even if he had been, this pleasure won out over it anyway. He let a little sigh of contentment escape and closed his eyes again.

A few more licks, tongue running slowly over the wounds to savor the taste, and he was done indulging himself. He pressed his lips softly in a meaningful kiss against Karkat's abused neck, and he leaned back up, looking down at his roommate with a content smile and faintly glowing eyes. 

"Thank you. You know, for everything."

"You're welcome." He muttered, flushed, glancing at John out of the corner of his eyes. The welts stung and the hickeys were going to embarrass him. He was going to have to dig out one of his scarves tomorrow.

"Sooooo," John's tail wagged languidly behind him, the movement perhaps even a little feline. "I get to stay with you again tonight, right? In here, I mean. It was so nice last time."

"Yeah, why not. It's not going to hurt anything." He turned, crawling up the bed.

"Awesome! Oh wait, we left like, all the stuff on in the living room again." A lengthy pause. "... I can't go, my legs are like jelly or something. Is that normal? And I'm really tired. I wasn't even tired before..."

"Mmhmm. Absolutely normal. You expended a lot of energy." he patted the bed. "It's what sex does... I think until you're used to it. I'm always exhausted."

"Hehe yes, because you have soooo much sex." John giggled and crawled unceremoniously over Karkat's body, and began sliding under the covers. "Can I just say that was the most amazing thing ever? Because it was. No wonder you masturbate at night sometimes!"

"You listen in on my room??" Karkat flushed bright red. He wasn't sure if he should be offended or amused.

"I hardly have to listen! You woke me up one night, even. To be fair, you're pretty quiet. I'm just really sensitive to people around me having sex or whatever. Half the time when I sneak into movie theaters and the crowd's really thin, there's people in the back doing hand jobs or something! They always think no one notices but I always do. Man that would totally ruin whatever I was watching."

He rolled over and pressed his face into his pillow. 

"Oh jesus... Yes. masturbation happens. Sometimes a guy just needs to, to get to sleep."

"Ohhh." John in turn rolled over onto his back, covers pulled up to his chest as he stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. Was masturbation the same? It couldn't be, or there wouldn't be near as many people having sex out there with other people, right? Still... "I totally need to try that sometime."

"I'm not entirely surprised you haven't yet." He tugged on the blankets, pulling them almost over his head. "I have to work in the morning...sleep?"

"Hehe, okay, okay." John grinned and wiggled his way closer to Karkat. He wound his arms around the older teen and pulled him close, skin touching skin in more than just a few places as he nuzzled Karkat's cheek. "G'night, Karkat."

Karkat sighed, settling against him, burying his face between John and the pillow. "G'night."


End file.
